The lawmaker representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of lying about his denial of a third-term ambition.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Wednesday, Kalu insisted that Obasanjo had indeed sought to extend his tenure beyond 2007.
According to Kalu, the former President personally invited him to the Presidential Villa during his administration to inform him of the plan.
“What Obasanjo said in Ghana, that he never wanted a third term, was a lie,” Kalu said. “He called me to the Villa and told me he wanted a third term, and I told him no. That’s why he started having issues with me. We stopped him with the help of former US President George Bush.”
Former President Obasanjo had earlier dismissed the long-standing allegation of pursuing a third term in office.
He made the denial during a session at the 2025 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Annual Democracy Dialogue held in Accra, Ghana, where he described the rumour as baseless and politically motivated.
Obasanjo maintained that he never sought to extend his stay beyond his constitutionally allowed two terms (1999–2007), saying his efforts to secure Nigeria’s debt relief were far more challenging than any alleged third-term pursuit.
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