1 month ago
A public affairs analyst has asserted that former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is covertly working to support President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement released on Sunday, analyst Akin Malaolu claimed that the former president's public posturing of support for opposition figures Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso is merely a distraction. According to Malaolu, Obasanjo is actively running a campaign intended to weaken Nigeria's opposition parties.
“By this letter, Obasanjo has only confirmed the speculations that he is working for his kinsman, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to actualise his second-term ambition.”
“The so-called Obasanjo’s support for Obi and Kwankwaso is a mere smokescreen aimed at masking his covert support for the Tinubu-led APC administration.”
These comments come amid ongoing public disputes involving the former president. Obasanjo previously accused his former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of allegedly bribing Ghali Umar Na’Abba, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, to impeach him. Atiku has since dismissed Obasanjo's accusation in a formal reply.
Why It Matters
During the 2023 presidential election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo broke with traditional party lines to formally endorse Peter Obi of the Labour Party, positioning himself as a critic of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The political landscape in Nigeria remains highly fractured, with third-party figures like Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) continuing to challenge the established political order. Accusations of ethnic alignment are a recurring theme in Nigerian political discourse, particularly concerning prominent leaders from the country's South-West region, where both Obasanjo and President Bola Tinubu originate.
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