The Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo is quietly working to weaken Nigeria’s opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, despite publicly projecting support for some opposition figures.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the group’s President, Chief Akin Malaolu, claimed that Obasanjo’s recent interventions in national political debates were designed to create divisions within opposition parties while indirectly strengthening President Bola Tinubu’s chances of securing a second term.
According to Malaolu, Obasanjo’s recent open letter to former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba, which revisited his long-standing political disagreements with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, should not be viewed as a personal dispute. Instead, he argued that the letter was part of a broader political strategy aimed at destabilising opposition forces.
The forum noted that the former president accused Atiku of working with the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, to orchestrate moves to impeach him while he was in office. Atiku has since rejected the allegation, maintaining that his opposition to Obasanjo was connected to efforts by political leaders to stop the controversial third-term agenda during the former president’s administration.
Malaolu argued that mentioning the late Na’Abba in the allegations was particularly controversial because the former Speaker is no longer alive to defend himself or clarify the events being referenced.
The group further insisted that Obasanjo’s actions should be interpreted as an attempt to weaken the credibility and unity of the opposition rather than a direct attack on Atiku alone.
The forum also dismissed Obasanjo’s perceived support for Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and New Nigeria Peoples Party leader Rabiu Kwankwaso, describing it as a political smokescreen intended to conceal what it called his real allegiance to the Tinubu administration.
According to the statement, before opposition stakeholders adopted the African Democratic Congress as the platform for their coalition, consultations were held with several prominent political leaders, including Obasanjo. However, the group claimed that the former president focused primarily on promoting Obi’s presidential ambition during those engagements.
Malaolu alleged that Obasanjo was prepared to publicly withdraw his support for Obi if the former Anambra State governor accepted a vice-presidential position within the coalition arrangement. He claimed the former president intended to communicate such a decision through another public letter.
The forum further alleged that after it became apparent that Obi would not emerge as the coalition’s presidential candidate, Obasanjo encouraged political realignments that eventually led to defections to the National Democratic Congress, with Kwankwaso allegedly playing a key role in the process.
Malaolu also claimed that Obasanjo is quietly collaborating with individuals close to President Tinubu to advance political strategies that could favour the President’s re-election bid in 2027.
He concluded by expressing disappointment that Obasanjo, whom he said once championed inclusive national politics and encouraged Nigerians to rise above ethnic interests, is now allegedly pursuing a different political approach that, in the forum’s view, benefits the ruling All Progressives Congress while weakening opposition efforts.
