Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a blistering rebuttal against former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, dismissing allegations that he deceived leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) ahead of the 2003 general elections and instead accusing the then AD governors of secretly aligning with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In a detailed letter dated July 23, 2026, titled “Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,'” Obasanjo described Osoba’s claims as inaccurate, exaggerated and built on misconceptions, insisting that he neither deceived political leaders nor engaged in tribal politics.
The former President was responding to allegations contained in Osoba’s 2018 memoir, Battlelines: Adventure in Journalism and Politics, recently republished by online platforms, in which the former governor accused Obasanjo of misleading AD governors and Afenifere leaders during political negotiations preceding the 2003 elections.
Rejecting the allegation in strong terms, Obasanjo said he had always presented issues honestly and never acted in bad faith.
“I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody. I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them,” he stated.
Obasanjo also disputed Osoba’s claim that a delegation of six AD governors and Afenifere leaders, led by the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo, met him at his Ota residence with proposals to resolve the political crisis before the election.
Questioning the account, the former President argued that it was inconceivable for six governors from one region to dictate political terms to a sitting President who enjoyed the backing of the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 21 PDP governors and nine governors from another political party.
“Six to dictate to thirty is ridiculous,” Obasanjo declared, adding that while he listened to political stakeholders out of courtesy, he never accepted political dictation.
Defending his decision to reach out to opposition figures after assuming office in 1999, Obasanjo said his invitation to members of the AD to participate in what he described as a broad-based national government was motivated by national unity and democratic inclusion rather than political weakness.
According to him, his emergence as the PDP presidential candidate in 1998 followed widespread consultations and encouragement from respected political leaders across different regions of the country, not pressure from any regional bloc.
He also recalled his cordial relationship with the late Afenifere leader, Chief Abraham Adesanya, saying that although Adesanya opposed his presidential ambition, both men maintained mutual respect throughout.
In one of the strongest claims contained in the letter, Obasanjo alleged that the six AD governors had entered into a separate political understanding with then Vice President Atiku Abubakar without his knowledge ahead of the 2003 elections.
He claimed the arrangement was for the governors to enjoy little or no electoral opposition in 2003 in exchange for supporting Atiku’s presidential ambition in 2007.
“You were all convinced of this anti-democratic plan and you all fell for it,” Obasanjo alleged.
The former President further maintained that the electoral defeat suffered by five of the six AD governors in the 2003 elections reflected the will of the people rather than manipulation by the Presidency.
According to him, the outcome was genuine in all the South-West states except one, where he alleged election figures were “successfully and murderously changed.”
Despite the sharp criticism of Osoba’s account, Obasanjo acknowledged the former governor’s contribution to the development of Abeokuta, praising him for allocating the land on which the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library now stands.
He described the library as the city’s most significant landmark and one of Osoba’s enduring legacies.