Atiku Defends Role Blocking Obasanjo’s Third-Term Bid, Cites Post-Prison Support
Atiku Abubakar, who served as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007, has defended his role in blocking former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s controversial bid for a third term in office, saying he harbours no regret over the decision. According to Sahara Reporters, the former vice president also asserted that he personally supported Obasanjo — including providing him with clothing — after the ex-president’s release from prison.
The third-term controversy dominated Nigerian politics in 2006, when Obasanjo, who had completed two four-year terms, sought to amend the constitution to allow himself another run at the presidency. The bid was widely viewed as a test of Nigeria’s young democracy and was ultimately defeated in the National Assembly, where a cross-party coalition of legislators refused to back the proposed amendments.
Obasanjo had been imprisoned from 1995 to 1998 under the military government of Sani Abacha on charges that included treason. He was released after Abacha’s death in 1998 and went on to win the 1999 presidential election, with Atiku as his running mate.
Atiku has remained an influential figure in Nigerian politics since leaving office. He has mounted several presidential bids of his own, including in 2007, 2019 and 2023, most recently contesting the 2023 result in court against President Bola Tinubu.
In his latest remarks, as Sahara Reporters reported, Atiku framed his opposition to the third-term bid as a defence of democratic norms, while highlighting what he described as personal acts of loyalty toward Obasanjo during a difficult chapter of the former president’s life.
Sources
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