Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of supporting moves by the House of Representatives to impeach him during his first term in office, describing the episode as the beginning of the breakdown in their political relationship.
In a letter dated 23 July 2026, Obasanjo alleged that Atiku, who served as his deputy between 1999 and 2007, worked with the House of Representatives under the leadership of the late Speaker, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to remove him from office ahead of the 2003 general election.
According to the former president, the impeachment plot originated from within the Presidency, with Atiku backing efforts to prevent him from seeking a second term.
Ahead of the 2003 election, Atiku and several governors of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reportedly promoted what became known as the “Mandela Option” – a proposal that Obasanjo should serve only one term, following the example of the late South African President Nelson Mandela.
The proposal was widely seen as part of efforts to position Atiku as the PDP’s presidential candidate.
Media reports at the time indicated that Obasanjo later appealed to PDP governors to persuade Atiku and other supporters of the proposal to back his bid for a second term.
The relationship between the two leaders deteriorated during Obasanjo’s second term, with the former president removing many of the responsibilities previously assigned to Atiku as vice president.
The dispute formed part of Obasanjo’s letter titled “Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003’”, written in response to an article by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba published in The Legal Observer on 20 July.
Obasanjo also revisited his decision not to support Atiku’s presidential ambition after leaving office in 2007, maintaining that the former vice president had not demonstrated loyalty during their time in government.
He said he could not, in good conscience, support Atiku as his successor, adding that doing so would have been contrary to his principles.
The former president further claimed that, ahead of the 2003 election, a political arrangement was proposed under which the six governors elected on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the South-West would not face opposition in their re-election bids in exchange for supporting Atiku’s presidential ambition.
