Abuja – Senate Chief Whip and former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of lying about his alleged third term ambitions, revealing how he enlisted world leaders including former US President George W. Bush and the late Nelson Mandela to thwart the plans.
Kalu’s allegations directly contradict Obasanjo’s recent denial at the 2025 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Annual Democracy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana, where the former president firmly rejected claims that he sought to extend his tenure beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday, Kalu insisted that Obasanjo personally informed him of his third term ambition during a meeting at the Presidential Villa.
“Obasanjo called me to the Presidential Villa to break the news of his third term ambition to me,” Kalu stated, describing the former president’s recent denial as “a naked lie.”
The senator, who governed Abia State from 1999 to 2007 during Obasanjo’s presidency, said the former leader also discussed his plans with several northern governors. “He told many northern governors too. If those governors are courageous enough, they will say the truth,” he added.
In his autobiography, My Life, Kalu details how he took the fight against Obasanjo’s third term bid beyond Nigeria’s borders, appealing to influential world leaders to intervene.
According to Kalu, he personally informed both President Bush and President Mandela about Obasanjo’s plans, urging them to call the Nigerian leader to order.
“I was the one who told President Nelson Mandela. I also told President George Bush and persuaded them to call Obasanjo to order,” Kalu recalled. “Mandela called President Obasanjo in my presence and he completely denied.”
Kalu also revealed that former South African President Thabo Mbeki confirmed Obasanjo had broached the subject with him on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
“Mbeki agreed with me and said Obasanjo mentioned something like that to him… and that he should help him get me and a few other people to support the idea to build a very strong democracy in Nigeria,” Kalu disclosed.
President Bush, according to Kalu, was unequivocal in his opposition. “Bush told me it would not happen, that US would not allow anything that would bring disunity or political conflict in Nigeria.”
Kalu claims he was among the first to raise the alarm about Obasanjo’s third term ambitions in August 2005 through a press statement. However, his warnings were initially dismissed.
“A lot of people castigated me, saying there was no truth in what I said,” he recalled.
In response to opposition from Kalu and other governors, the former president allegedly unleashed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on critics. “The President was quick to unleash the EFCC. The commission suddenly discovered that some governors had stashed away N17 billion in foreign banks,” Kalu said.
Kalu revealed the intricate strategy employed to defeat the constitutional amendment in parliament, commending the role of then Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu as the “hero” of the operation.
According to Kalu, Mantu warned him not to trust Senate President Ken Nnamani or Senator David Mark with sensitive information about their plans.
“He told me that the Senate president was on both sides of the Atlantic,” Kalu said. “Mantu assured me that Obasanjo would get anything we discussed with the Senate president within seconds.”
The anti-third term forces worked closely with US officials, including Ambassador John Campbell, to coordinate their efforts. The group included Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the late Governor Abdulkadir Kure of Niger State.
Perhaps the most explosive claim in Kalu’s account is his allegation that Obasanjo distributed N50 million to each senator from the Central Bank of Nigeria to secure votes for the constitutional amendment.
Kalu said Senator Uche Chukwumerije brought his share to the Abia liaison office in Abuja to show him. “I told him to return it to them,” Kalu stated, adding that anti-corruption agencies were aware the money came from the CBN but remained silent.
Constitutional Victory
Kalu emphasized that his opposition was based on constitutional principles rather than personal animosity. “We stopped him because of the constitution. Our constitution is supreme,” he declared.
The third term bid was ultimately defeated in the National Assembly in 2006, forcing Obasanjo to step down at the end of his second term in 2007.
“The man cannot rewrite history — it is clear he wanted a third term,” Kalu concluded, warning the former president not to “annoy the gods” with false denials.
