A REPLY: HOW OBASANJO DECEIVED US IN 2003; You Worked With Atiku To Remove Me From Office – Obasanjo slams Osoba

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, of working with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to remove him from office during his tenure.

Obasanjo made the allegation in a letter titled, “REPLY TO YOUR INACCURATE POSTURE: ‘HOW OBASANJO DECEIVED US IN 2003′”.

READ BELOW.

There are many things you got wrong and many things you omitted advertently or inadvertently in your write-up carried in The Legal Observer of July 20, 2026. Your presentation in your write-up was farfetched to put it mildly.

But Before I go further, I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceit because I deceived nobody. I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them no matter whose ox is gored. There were issues you did not know or understand because as you pointed out, they were above your head. They were handled by your elders in Alliance for Democracy (AD) party and Afenifere. And there were issues that you governors of the South-West kept away from me which normally should be discussed or raised with me but were raised or discussed somewhere else. I would not say that you were diabølical or deceitful. You chose what you would do and you did what you chose. Others could also choose differently.

On my being released from pr!son, for us to start from that point, many people came to congratulate me and started insinuating that I should have a role in Government again. I paid no attention initially because I had serious family matter: my children’s schools to attend to.

Sooner, groups started to call on me to directly invite, not just to insinuate. The first group was led by Lawan Katsina to me on my Ota farm. I received them, thanked them and promised to think about their invitation. The second group was led by Chief S. M. Afolabi who was Deputy Governor to Chief Bola Ige. The third group was led by Martins Kuye. The last two groups were Yoruba-led and I told them that the circle needed to be widened and enlarged. I believed that the two groups included Afenifere and non-Afenifere. You did not know that I had these approaches, contacts or invitations.

With these approaches, I decided to consult in South-West, East and North. In the South-West, my first call was Ibadan to consult Chief Akinloye, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Richard Akinjide and Professor Oyeleye. In the North, I consulted two close friends, Sunday Awoniyi and Adamu Ciroma. In the East, I consulted Professor Anezi Okoro and Arthur Mbanefo. That quick consultation was like sounding board. It gave me a quick and a good feel.

From that sounding, I decided to take interest in what was going on in Party formations and the special role that Bola Ige was playing at that time. Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) attracted my attention and my interest and I was being regularly posted. After the formation of the Parties, I formally joined PDP. I continued my consultation and campaigns at the same time.

For me, [b]politics is for welfare and well-being of people and there should be no personal bitterness or acrimøny in it. And if you do not do my politics or play my own way, that should not lead to hãtrēd, enm!ty or antagonism. It is a matter of ideas, policies, competition and choice. While competing with Alex Ekwueme, I was a guest in his house when I went to Anambra to campaign for primary to be candidate of PDP for the presidency. We ate together and the following morning, I went out to campaign. When I told him that I would repair the road to his settlement when I became President, he retorted that what he could do by himself, he would not give to someone else to do for him. We laughed it off.