The long-standing political rivalry between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has flared up again, despite Obasanjo’s surprise endorsement of Atiku for the 2018 presidential election, a gesture that many had hoped would permanently bury their differences.
Obasanjo on Wednesday accused Atiku of funding an impeachment plot against him during their time in office.
Obasanjo made the explosive claim in a lengthy statement titled “Reply to Your Inacjnn!ñcurate Posture: ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003′”, issued on July 23, 2026. The statement was a direct response to an article by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba, published in The Legal Observer on July 20, which Obasanjo described as inaccurate, incomplete and “farfetched”.
In his rebuttal, Obasanjo alleged that the impeachment move was orchestrated from within the Presidency and spearheaded by Atiku.
According to Obasanjo, on a Friday when he was out of the office, Atiku invited the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to his office and convinced him that Obasanjo should serve only one term as president.
The former president further claimed that Atiku provided financial backing to kick-start the impeachment process. “On the Friday, Atiku invited Na’Abba; he gave him ₦5 million to begin his impeachment work. It was all noted, recorded and reported to me by my Chief of Staff, a professional intelligence officer,” Obasanjo stated.
Obasanjo maintained that he treated the impeachment threat with contempt because he believed there were no constitutional grounds for his removal.
He linked the alleged plot to Atiku’s ambition to succeed him. “From the first day as Vice-President, he raised campaigners for his presidency,” he said.
In his statement, Obasanjo also rejected Osoba’s suggestion that he misled the Yoruba political establishment ahead of the 2003 elections. “I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody,” he said.
Atiku’s Response
Atiku’s camp responded swiftly through his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, dismissing the allegations as “politically motivated” and aimed at influencing the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku argued it was “fundamentally unfair” to accuse the late Speaker Na’Abba, who can no longer defend himself.
He questioned why Obasanjo chose to make the allegation only after Na’Abba’s death, denying Nigerians the opportunity to hear the other side of the story.
“It is unfair to his memory and contrary to our cultural values to conscript the dead into contemporary political battles when they no longer have a voice,” Atiku said.
He pointed out that the allegations lack any judicial or official backing.
He asked: “If there was indeed evidence of any criminal conduct as alleged, Nigerians are entitled to ask why no action was taken at the time by a government that wielded the full powers of the Nigerian state.”
Atiku linked Obasanjo’s continued hostility to his opposition to the former president’s “unconstitutional third-term agenda.” “Rather than surrender democratic principles on the altar of personal ambition, I defended the Constitution and successfully asserted my rights through the courts in a series of landmark legal victories against a sitting President,” he stated.
He also urged Obasanjo to publicly declare his preferred candidate for 2027 rather than using unverifiable allegations.
“If former President Obasanjo has chosen to take a political position ahead of 2027, he should simply declare it and allow Nigerians to judge it on its merits,” he said.
Finally, Atiku said he would not be drawn into historical disputes while Nigeria faces economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment and hunger. “Nigerians deserve solutions to today’s problems, not recycled political tales from yesterday,” he concluded.
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