Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s denial of seeking a third term in office has been vehemently challenged by political activist and civil society leader Dr. Usman Bugaje, who claims that the ex-president “did everything within his power” to extend his tenure.
Obasanjo, while addressing his audience at a democracy dialogue held by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Ghana last week, rejected the long-running third-term debate, saying, “I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I would know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term.”
However, reacting on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, Bugaje, who served as a member of the National Assembly during Obasanjo’s administration, maintained that legislators at the time had firsthand knowledge of the former president’s alleged ambition.
“I can confirm to you that Obasanjo looked for a third term. He did everything that he could within his power to get a third term; he failed to do so,” Bugaje declared.
“Now, the fact that he did not take a telephone to make a particular call to anybody is not sufficient evidence that he did not look for a third term. It’s just a matter of style, but all of us in the National Assembly at that time knew beyond any doubt that he worked day and night, and many of us were threatened by his own agents.”
Bugaje described how some members were allegedly intimidated, citing Senator Victor Lar, then leader of the Northern faction of the House of Representatives, who had to hide in various locations before a pivotal meeting to oppose the third-term bid.
“Those people who actually distributed the money and threatened us are alive. Those who received the money are alive.
“Those who refused to receive the money are alive. There is sufficient evidence… This is a matter that is incontrovertible; there is no way he can deny it,” Bugaje stressed.
