By Our REPORTERS
ABEOKUTA, July 24, 2026 — Former Ogun State Governor and APC national leader, Chief Olusegun Osoba (pictured above), has alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo deceived the leadership of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Afenifere into supporting his 2003 re-election bid by making political commitments that were never fulfilled.
The allegation is contained in excerpts published from Osoba's autobiography, *Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics* (Diamond Publications, 2018, pp. 280–294), where the former governor recounted a series of meetings between Obasanjo and AD governors, Afenifere leaders, prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, and foremost clergymen before the 2003 general elections.
According to Osoba, the rapprochement began after an impeachment attempt against President Obasanjo failed, prompting the President to seek political understanding with the six AD governors. He said the governors insisted that any political alliance would require the approval of Afenifere leaders.
Osoba wrote that Afenifere subsequently constituted a delegation led by the late Chief Abraham Adesanya to meet Obasanjo at his Ota residence, where the group presented demands including restructuring of the federation, devolution of powers, fiscal federalism, merit-based federal appointments, and the conduct of a credible national census.
He claimed that Obasanjo gave assurances that he supported the reforms and pledged to pursue them if re-elected.
"Consequently, we agreed to support him for the 2003 presidential election," Osoba wrote, adding that the Alliance for Democracy, AD decided against fielding a presidential candidate. "It was later that we realised that we had been fooled. Obasanjo merely played along with us and ended up deceiving us by telling our leaders what he knew they wanted to hear."
The former governor further alleged that Obasanjo enlisted the support of influential Yoruba monarchs and respected leaders to persuade skeptical AD governors to back his second-term bid. Among those he mentioned were the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the late Alake of Egbaland, Oba Oyebade Lipede; the late Oba of Lagos, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan; the late Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Iyiola Matanmi; and the Awujale of Ijebuland, late Oba Sikiru Adetona.
According to Osoba, the Awujale played a particularly significant role in mediating between him and Obasanjo, arguing that Nigeria needed a peaceful civilian-to-civilian transition to safeguard democracy.
Despite those interventions, Osoba said he remained cautious because of previous experiences with Obasanjo, although he eventually supported the alliance in what he described as the broader interest of democratic stability.
He also recounted that several associates, including former Oyo State Governor Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, the then President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), and other close associates warned him to be wary of the alliance.
Osoba further alleged that shortly before the elections, intelligence reports suggested that plans were already in place to manipulate the outcome of both the National Assembly and governorship elections. He recalled a tense meeting at Ota where Chief Abraham Adesanya and Anglican Bishop Emmanuel Gbonigi confronted Obasanjo with allegations of planned electoral malpractice, allegations the President reportedly denied while promising to ensure free and fair elections.
The former governor maintained that subsequent events vindicated those fears, alleging widespread manipulation during the 2003 polls.
He cited the outcome of the elections in Ogun State, where President Obasanjo reportedly secured more than 1.36 million votes while the PDP governorship candidate, Gbenga Daniel, was declared winner with over 449,000 votes.
Osoba noted that subsequent appellate court proceedings questioned the disparity between the presidential and governorship results in Ogun State. According to him, the court described aspects of the allegations as criminal in nature, citing claims of violence, intimidation, falsification of results, and irregularities in the electoral process.
The publication represents Osoba's personal account of political events leading to the 2003 elections and reflects allegations and opinions contained in his memoir. The former President's responses, as recounted by Osoba, included denials of plans to manipulate the elections and assurances that the polls would be conducted freely and fairly. No fresh response from Obasanjo regarding the republication of these claims was included in the published excerpt.
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