‘If I Wanted 3rd Term, I Would Have Gotten It’ – Obasanjo Dismisses Tenure Elongation Allegations

‘If I Wanted 3rd Term, I Would Have Gotten It’ – Obasanjo Dismisses Tenure Elongation Allegations

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied persistent claims that he attempted to secure a third term in office, insisting that no one can provide evidence to support such allegations.

Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Obasanjo said:

“I’m not a fool. If I wanted it, some thought I wanted it, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that will say I called him and told him I wanted the third term. None.”

The former president, who governed Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, argued that his administration’s successful push for debt relief was a much tougher task than securing a third term, stressing that he would have succeeded if he truly desired it.

“I keep telling them: if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then surely if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he declared.

Obasanjo further cautioned leaders against clinging to power, describing the belief that no one else can lead as a “sin against God.”

“Some people believe that unless they are there, nobody else can do it. But if God takes you away, someone else will come — and that person may even do better,” he said.

He maintained that leadership should make room for new, dynamic voices, warning that overstaying in power robs nations of vitality and innovation.