Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been accused of lying about his alleged third term ambition by Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senator representing Abia North. The senator made the claim during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
Kalu said Obasanjo’s recent denial of seeking a third term in office was “false.” He stated that the former president personally told him about his plan to extend his stay in power beyond 2007.
“What Obasanjo said in Ghana, that he never wanted a third term, was a lie,” Orji Kalu said firmly. “He called me to the Villa and told me he wanted a third term, and I told him no. That’s why he started having issues with me. We stopped him with the help of former US President Bush.”
The Obasanjo third term controversy resurfaced after he spoke at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana. He dismissed claims that he once planned to change Nigeria’s constitution to secure a third term in office.
Obasanjo maintained that he never sought an extension beyond his two terms from 1999 to 2007. He said securing Nigeria’s foreign debt relief was harder than extending his tenure, proving he never sought a third term.
Kalu’s revelation, however, reignited debates over one of the most talked-about issues in Nigeria’s democratic history. His comments have sparked political reactions online, with citizens revisiting the Obasanjo third term controversy and its impact on Nigeria’s political landscape.
