Obasanjo To Osoba: You Lost 2003 Election Fairly, I Was Never Part of Any Atiku-AD Deal

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has rejected claims by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba that he deceived leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) during political negotiations ahead of the 2003 general election.

In a letter issued in Abeokuta on Thursday, titled “Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,” Obasanjo described Osoba’s allegations as inaccurate and insisted he never deceived anyone.

The former president said he always presented issues as he understood them and maintained that some of the political discussions referenced by Osoba were handled by senior AD and Afenifere leaders rather than state governors.

“I take strong objection to your calling me deceitful because I deceived nobody,” Obasanjo wrote.

He recalled that after his release from prison, several political groups encouraged him to return to public office. According to him, he later joined the Peoples Democratic Party after extensive consultations across the South-West, South-East and northern Nigeria.

Responding to Osoba’s account of events leading to the 2003 election, Obasanjo denied any involvement in an alleged arrangement between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and AD governors.

He alleged that Atiku had pursued his presidential ambition from the beginning of their administration and later sought political alliances after an alleged impeachment plot failed.

According to Obasanjo, AD governors embraced a strategy that would have allowed them to contest the 2003 elections without opposition before supporting Atiku’s presidential ambition in 2007.

“You were all convinced of this anti-democratic plan and you all fell for it. If anyone said I was promoting it, that was a lie,” he said.

Obasanjo challenged Osoba’s version of events, insisting the former governor never verified the alleged arrangement with him directly.

He also maintained that Osoba’s defeat in the 2003 governorship election reflected the genuine will of voters.

“Your loss or defeat in 2003 was genuine in all the six states except the one where figures were changed,” he stated.

The former president further criticised what he described as Afenifere’s ethnic-based politics, arguing that the group failed to evolve beyond regional interests.

Obasanjo urged Osoba to reflect on his political journey and stressed that political disagreements should never destroy personal relationships, adding that politics should always prioritise ideas, public welfare and national development over bitterness and division.