By Eshioromeh Sebastian
In a fresh round of political fireworks, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has made explosive allegations against his ex-deputy, Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of orchestrating an impeachment plot during his administration .
In a letter to former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba, Obasanjo claimed the plot began from within the Presidency after Atiku became convinced he should serve only one term in office.
He alleged that Atiku invited then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, to his office while Obasanjo was away and convinced him to initiate impeachment proceedings .
“He gave him N5 million to begin his impeachment work,” Obasanjo wrote, further claiming that “It was all noted, recorded and reported to me by my Chief of Staff, a professional intelligence officer” .
The former president said he dismissed the threats, believing he had committed no impeachable offence, adding that his deputy simply wanted to take over “by hook or by crook” .
According to Obasanjo, after the impeachment effort failed, Atiku adopted a “two-track approach” —first aligning with former Vice President Alex Ekwueme with the understanding that power would later transfer to Atiku, and second, persuading Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors in the South-West to avoid competing in the 2003 elections so they could support his presidential ambition in 2007 .
The allegations are contained in Obasanjo’s response to Osoba’s article titled “How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,” in which the former president rejected accusations that he deceived Alliance for Democracy leaders during the 2003 political realignments .
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