Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District and former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of “lying to Nigerians” over his alleged bid to secure a third term during his tenure as Nigeria’s leader.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Kalu dismissed Obasanjo’s recent denial of the third-term agenda as a “naked fallacy”, insisting that the former president had personally confided in him and several other governors his intention to amend the constitution to allow him to remain in power beyond 2007.
“With all due respect to President Obasanjo, what he said in Ghana was a blatant lie, a blatant fallacy,” Kalu declared. “Many people who were part of that period are still alive: David Mark is alive, others are alive. They know the truth.”
The senator alleged that substantial sums of money were distributed to lawmakers in an attempt to gain their support for the proposed constitutional amendment that would have extended Obasanjo’s term.
“Senator Wande brought 50 million pounds that were distributed and they asked me if I would accept as governor,” Kalu said. “I said no, go and give it back to me. Even the National Security Adviser at the time was aware of what was happening. Obasanjo was at the center of it all.”
According to Kalu, his refusal to support the measure was the beginning of his political break with the former president.
“My dispute with him began when I told Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and George Bush of the United States that Obasanjo was running for a third term,” he said. “I even told Nelson Mandela, may his soul rest in peace. Everyone confronted him. I don’t know why Nigeria should be built on lies of statesmen.”
Responding to Obasanjo’s recent claim that no Nigerian “dead or alive” could claim to be seeking a third term, Kalu maintained that the former president had personally discussed the plan with him.
“Of course, he told me in the Villa,” Kalu said. “That was the beginning. I told him it wasn’t possible. He had already convinced some governors, but people like me and a few others said no. I am a committed Christian. I took an oath with the Bible to serve only for eight years, and that was the end.”
He added that Obasanjo often referred to long-serving leaders such as Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi as justification for his ambition, an idea Kalu described as fundamentally undemocratic.
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“He used to say that Gaddafi was still there, that others were still there,” Kalu recalled. “But democracy is about the rule of law. The beauty of constitutional democracy is the time limits. If the Constitution says eight years, no one should go beyond that. Anyone who tries is incurring the wrath of God.”
Kalu maintained that the third term plot was widely known among the political class of the time.
“He also told many northern governors. If those governors are brave enough, they will tell the truth,” Kalu said. “He wanted a third term and we stopped him. He was even at odds with Governor Peter Odili over that. This man cannot rewrite history; it is clear that he wanted a third term.”
The lawmaker stated that his resistance to Obasanjo’s ambition was motivated by his commitment to the constitutional order rather than personal grievances.
“We stopped it because of the constitution,” he said. “Our constitution is supreme. Even the US government of President George Bush supported efforts to stop it. History will remember that some of us defended democracy,” he said.
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