By Ademola Adekusibe
Abuja, Nigeria – September 23, 2025
Former federal lawmaker and scholar, Usman Bugaje, has faulted ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s claim that he never attempted to secure a third term in office, insisting that Obasanjo indeed made efforts to extend his tenure but failed.
Obasanjo, who ruled Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, recently said during an event hosted by former President Goodluck Jonathan that he had no interest in a third term. According to him, if he had made such an attempt, he would have succeeded.
“I am not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how I would have gone about it, and I would have won. No Nigerian, dead or alive, can say I approached them about a third term,” Obasanjo had declared.
But Bugaje, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, dismissed the denial, stressing that the former president worked behind the scenes to actualize the controversial plan.
“I can confirm to you that Obasanjo tried. He used every strategy, but it collapsed. The fact that he did not openly announce it does not mean he never attempted it,” Bugaje said.
He explained that many lawmakers at the time witnessed the efforts firsthand, noting that the campaign for constitutional amendment in 2006 was part of the scheme.
“One of those who strongly resisted was Senator Victor Lar. The matter was so serious that he had to stay away from home for days due to pressure. Those who were involved in the negotiations and inducements are still alive today,” Bugaje added.
The third-term controversy dominated Nigeria’s political space in 2006, when moves were made to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow presidents to serve three terms. The proposal was eventually rejected by the National Assembly after nationwide uproar, paving the way for the 2007 elections that produced the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Bugaje insisted that Obasanjo’s claim of innocence does not tally with the evidence known to key actors in the political class at the time.
