Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar provided N5 million to support efforts to impeach him during his first term in office.
Obasanjo made the claim while responding to comments by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba on the political developments that preceded the 2003 general elections.
In a statement, Obasanjo said the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, began impeachment proceedings after meeting with Atiku at the Presidential Villa.
According to Obasanjo, Atiku believed he should serve only one term as president and sought support from a small group of political allies to pursue that objective.
He alleged that on a Friday, while he was away from the office, Atiku invited Na’Abba to his office and gave him N5 million to initiate the impeachment process.
Obasanjo stated that the meeting and the alleged financial transaction were documented and reported to him by his Chief of Staff, whom he described as a professional intelligence officer.
Despite the impeachment threat, Obasanjo said he remained unconcerned because he was confident there were no constitutional grounds for his removal from office.
The allegation is one of several claims made by the former president in his account of the political tensions that marked his first term in office.
