Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of lying about never seeking a third term in office, insisting the ex-leader personally informed him and other governors of the plan while in power.
Gatekeepers News reports that Kalu made the claim on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, describing Obasanjo’s recent denial as “a naked lie.”
“With due respect to President Obasanjo, what he said in Ghana was a naked lie, a naked fallacy,” Kalu said. “Many people who were part of that period are still alive — David Mark is alive, others are alive. They know the truth.”
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s president from 1999 to 2007, had earlier dismissed allegations of pursuing a third term. Speaking at a Democracy Dialogue in Accra on September 20, the former president said there was no living or dead Nigerian who could prove he ever expressed such an ambition.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it,” Obasanjo had said. “And there is no Nigerian dead or alive that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term.”
“Money Was Shared”
Kalu, who governed Abia State during Obasanjo’s tenure, claimed that funds were distributed among lawmakers to gain support for the alleged constitutional amendment to extend the president’s stay in office.
“Senator Uche Chukwumerije brought ₦50 million which they shared, and they asked me if I would take as a governor,” he said. “I said no — go and give it back. Even the national security adviser (Nuhu Ribadu) would know Obasanjo was lying, he was at the centre of it all.”
He alleged that his refusal to support the move led to his falling out with the former president.
“My quarrel with him started when I told Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and George Bush of the United States that Obasanjo was running for a third term,” Kalu said. “I even told Nelson Mandela. They all confronted him. I don’t know why Nigeria should be built on lies by statesmen.”
“He Wanted to Stay Beyond 2007”
The senator insisted Obasanjo’s ambition was an open secret among political leaders at the time.
“Of course, Obasanjo told me in the villa, that was the beginning. I told him it was not possible,” Kalu stated. “He had already convinced some governors, but people like me and a few others said no. I am a committed Christian. I took an oath with the Bible to serve for only eight years, and that was the end of it.”
According to him, Obasanjo often cited leaders such as Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi as examples to justify his desire to remain in power.
“He used to say Gaddafi was still there, others were still there,” Kalu said. “But democracy is about the rule of law. The beauty of constitutional democracy is the time limits. If the constitution says eight years, nobody should go beyond that.”
Kalu claimed that several northern governors were also aware of the plan but chose silence.
“He told many northern governors too. If those governors are courageous enough, they will say the truth. He wanted a third term, and we stopped him,” he said. “He was even at loggerheads with Governor Peter Odili over it. The man cannot rewrite history — it is clear he wanted a third term.”
“We Stopped Him for the Constitution”
The former Abia governor maintained that his opposition was not personal but based on his commitment to constitutional principles.
“We stopped him because of the constitution,” Kalu said. “Our constitution is supreme. Even the US government under President George Bush supported efforts to stop him. History will remember that some of us stood for democracy.”
