Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senate Chief Whip and former Governor of Abia State, has revealed that his longstanding quarrel with former President Olusegun Obasanjo stemmed from his opposition to the ex-president’s alleged third term ambition.
Kalu made the disclosure during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television, where he countered Obasanjo’s recent denial of ever seeking a constitutional amendment to allow him remain in office beyond two terms.
Recall that Obasanjo, speaking at the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s Democracy Dialogue in Accra in September, had dismissed the long-standing speculation, saying: “There is no Nigerian dead or alive that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term. I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it.”
Reacting to the statement, Kalu described the claim as untrue and said it was his resistance to the alleged plot that led to the collapse of his relationship with Obasanjo.
“With due respect to President Obasanjo, what he said in Ghana was a naked lie, a naked fallacy. Many people who were part of that period are still alive — David Mark is alive, others are alive. They know the truth,” Kalu said.
He claimed that Obasanjo had summoned him to the Presidential Villa during his tenure and directly informed him about the plan to alter the constitution for a third term in office.
“He invited me to the Villa and told me about the third term. Senator Uche Chukwumerije brought ₦50 million, which they shared, and they asked me if I would take as a governor,” Kalu alleged.
“I said no — go and give it back. Even the national security adviser (Nuhu Ribadu) would know Obasanjo was lying; he was at the centre of it all.”
Kalu said his firm rejection of the third term proposal and his decision to alert key international figures at the time drew Obasanjo’s ire.
“My quarrel with him started 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. They all confronted him. I don’t know why Nigeria should be built on lies by statesmen.”
According to Kalu, while the former president was able to persuade some state governors to support the controversial move, he and a few others held their ground and rejected it on principle.
“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 for only eight years, and that was the end of it,” he said.
