PRESS RELEASE
Obasanjo’s campaign of lies, political manipulation and orchestrated deceit falling apart like a pack of cards
Finally, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s campaign of lies, political manipulation and orchestrated deceit stacked against Atiku Abubakar for over 20 years, for political expediency, is falling apart like a pack of cards. On July 23, Chief Obasanjo alleged that his deputy (1999-2007) and Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, mobilised the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba to impeach him. It has become a pattern for Obasanjo to take advantage of every election cycle to throw stones of corruption, betrayal and other sundry allegations against Atiku. This time, he chose to make a man, who passed away nearly three years ago, the subject of his baseless allegation. He knows that the only way that Na’Abba would be able to respond to the malicious allegation is by a divine miracle in which the former Speaker is raised from the dead!
But Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, a major actor in the politics of that era, put a lie to Obasanjo’s claim. The former Chief Whip during the 1999-2007 sessions of the House of Representatives said that Na’Abba never sought Obasanjo’s removal and insists Atiku acted as his former boss’s envoy to lawmakers.
And contrary to the media narrative that Obasanjo knelt down for Atiku to get his support for a second term, former Governor of Abia State, Sen. Orji Kalu in a 2003 trending video revealed that it was actually Atiku who knelt down for the then PDP governors to secure their support for Obasanjo. Obasanjo and his handlers had mischievously dropped into the media space a narrative that the former President was forced to kneel down for Atiku to safeguard his second term ticket. (In Yoruba land, it is a deep cultural taboo and a profound inversion of norms for an elder to kneel down or prostrate for a younger person. This, and many more, were deliberate efforts at portraying Atiku in bad light).
“Atiku knelt down, we were like 17 governors. He knelt down for us and said that he does not want to be disloyal to Obasanjo. That four years is like four days,” Kalu said.
And to confirm that it was the PDP governors and not Atiku that were planning to upstage Obasanjo because of his dictatorial tendencies, Kalu said that everything was in motion by the PDP governors to make the Waziri Adamawa president.
“Atiku was almost a President. We had gotten everyone to postpone the (PDP) Convention and had gotten what we needed to move forward. But he (Atiku), said this man (Obasanjo) trusted him, and gave him the opportunity to work with him. That he cannot betray Obasanjo,” the former Abia Governor said.
Leading up to the 2007 election, Obasanjo wrote to the Senate to investigate Atiku over alleged diversion of funds of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF). To underscore his innocence, Atiku temporarily vacated his immunity and presented himself for the probe. The former Vice President insisted that the funds were safe in fixed deposit accounts and that the charges were politically motivated to truncate his presidential run because of his opposition to Obasanjo’s Third Term agenda.
Writing in his autobiography titled “Awujale”, the late Alaiyeluwa HRH Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Ogbagba II, the Awujale of Ijebu kingdom exposed how Obasanjo used the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under Nuhu Ribadu to hound Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga in his desperation to nail Atiku for diversion of PTDF funds and for his personal benefit.
“The EFCC in Lagos had come calling brusquely on Mike Adenuga (Jnr), Chairman Globacom on 9 July 2006. They broke his gate, swarmed into his house and kept him under ‘arrest’. When I heard about the arrest, I called the legal firms of Ayanlaja SAN & Adesanya SAN as well as Professor Biodun Adesanya SAN to take up the matter and secure Mike’s release. They swung into action and gave every indication that they would take the matter to court.
“By evening, it was no longer necessary to go to court as Mike, following his statement to EFCC, had been released with instructions to report regularly to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja. Mike proceeded to Abuja, accompanied by his lawyer, Prof. Biodun Adesanya SAN,” Oba Adetona wrote on page 185 of his book.
Continuing, the courageous and highly respected Oba Adetona said that “indirectly related to this case (PTDF), the EFCC had quizzed and released Mohammed Babangida, Ibrahim Babangida’s son.”
According to him, Obasanjo was trying to use Adenuga to rope Atiku into the PTDF issue. “EFCC purportedly were on the trail of some money belonging to the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF), but there was really more beneath the veneer.”
Obasanjo had alleged that Atiku gave Adenuga money from the PTDF funds to pay for his Globacom licence. But it was public record that Adenuga secured a loan from BNP Paribas Bank that was paid through New York with which he paid for the Globacom licence.
Oba Adetona also made revelations confirming that Obasanjo, who is quick to point accusing fingers at others, is not only corrupt but also a hypocrite.
“Not long afterwards, and in the heat of this mess (arrest and harassment of Adenuga), Obasanjo did two things that puzzled me. He called Mike to meet him at a social event in Lagos—Engr. Olapade’s birthday celebration. Mike and Obasanjo were both captured by press photographers in the newspapers at the event.
“Following the celebration, Obasanjo asked Mike to accompany him to Ota. It was in Ota that he (Obasanjo and while he was still President) solicited for the construction of the Administration Block of his university, Bells University in Ota. Mike agreed and Cachez Turnkey Projects Ltd handled the project for him.”
Hide quoted text
Writing in pages 185-197 of his book, Oba Adetona said that Adenuga was forced to go into exile because Obasanjo was using the EFCC to harass the astute businessman.
But when Obasanjo left office, Adenuga, at the prompting of Oba Adetona returned to Nigeria. However, Obasanjo shamelessly wanted Adenuga to continue with the construction of the Administration block at his Bells University, which construction work had slowed down while the Globacom Chairman was in exile in London.
“Thereafter, Mike returned home. Nobody touched him and no institution has prosecuted him (till date) because there was no genuine reason from the onset for anybody to touch him.
“However, the construction project at Bells University slowed considerably while Mike was in exile and a few solicitous calls from Obasanjo to Mike while he was in exile did not change the pace of work. On his return from exile, the school, Bells University, had the temerity to write to him seeking for a meeting to discuss the continuation of the project. When I got to know, I offered to be in attendance at the meeting and sent word round that I would be in attendance. I had the intention to lambast all of them. They must have sensed it because up till now, the meeting has not been held!”
Signed:
Paul Ibe
Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007
Abuja
09 August 2026.