Some State Governors Were Behind Plot To Give Me Third Term Bid — Former President, Obasanjo Shifts Blame

Recall that few months to the expiration of his tenure, a bill to amend the 1999 constitution and extend term limits by another four years failed to pass at the National Assembly.

Former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has claimed that most of the state governors during his era were advocating for the amendment of the constitution to allow the inclusion of a third term for state and federal executive heads for their personal interests.

Recall that few months to the expiration of his tenure, a bill to amend the 1999 constitution and extend term limits by another four years failed to pass at the National Assembly.

But in subsequent years, Obasanjo had vehemently denied seeking to extend his stay in office beyond 2007, alleging it was a political plan influenced by some governors

During a discussion with Chude Jideonwo, the media personality, Obasanjo explained that his government mainly stood against corruption.

He was quoted by TheCable as saying: “The governors; some of them, were doing it for themselves.”

“Because if the president did a third term, they too would have had a chance for a third term.”

In 2004, Segun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun state, chastised Obasanjo for suspected falsehoods in his book “My Watch,” noting that the former president nearly “went on his knees” to beg support for a third term.

Goodluck Jonathan, a former president and governor at the time, also affirmed Obasanjo’s desire for a third term, saying that the bid was unsuccessful due to opposition from the national legislature.

It was also claimed that Ken Nnamani, former Senate President, said lawmakers in the fifth National Assembly sacrificed their legislative careers when the controversial third term ambition was scuttled.

In response to the repeated claims of theft levelled against him, the former president stated that his expertise was in obtaining funds, not embezzlement, and that those who could not match his acumen should stop criticising him.

Obasanjo, like former President Muhammadu Buhari, ruled Nigeria as military head of state before returning as civilian president as the continent’s most populous country began its Fourth Republic.