Ex-Senator Reveals How Lawmakers Were Allegedly Offered N70 Million Each to Support Obasanjo’s Third-Term Bid
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly attempted to bribe lawmakers with N70 million each in 2006 to secure support for his failed third-term agenda, according to Former Senator Olusola Adeyeye.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, Adeyeye detailed how members of the National Assembly faced intense pressure and financial inducements to back Obasanjo’s bid to extend his stay in power beyond 2007.
How Lawmakers Were Allegedly Bribed
Adeyeye, a former lawmaker, disclosed that the initial offer to legislators was N50 million, but it was later increased to N70 million per person.
“A principal officer of the House disclosed that the presidency had planned to give each of us N50 million,”
he revealed.
“That principal officer corrected me and said it was not going to be N50 million; it was N70 million. N70 million in 2006 was big money.”
Realizing the scale of the operation, Adeyeye said he launched a media campaign to expose the scheme. However, his efforts were largely ignored.
“I did news conferences twice, and the newspapers did not take it seriously. Sometimes, if you want your stories to be on the front page of a newspaper, believe me, you are going to pay for it,”
he lamented.
The Hidden Political Maneuvers
Adeyeye also narrated how he was unknowingly sent on an official trip to China during crucial deliberations on the third-term agenda.
“I got to Amsterdam, and I opened the newspaper and realized they had kept me away so that I wouldn’t be present for what was supposed to be discussed at that time in the House,”
he said.
He credited then-Speaker Aminu Bello Masari for shielding him from potential threats and playing a strategic role in opposing the third-term bid.
The Third-Term Battle That Shook Nigeria
Obasanjo’s third-term agenda remains one of the most controversial moments in Nigeria’s democratic history. As his tenure neared its end in 2007, reports emerged of a push for a constitutional amendment to extend his rule.
The move sparked nationwide outrage, with civil society groups, opposition parties, and even members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejecting the plan. Allegations of financial inducements to lawmakers further fueled tensions.
However, in May 2006, the National Assembly overwhelmingly voted against the proposal, marking a significant victory for Nigeria’s democracy and preventing what many feared would be a dangerous precedent for sit-tight leadership in Africa.
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