Fresh political turmoil has erupted over former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s role in the run-up to the 2027 general election, following conflicting assertions from key political actors over his true allegiances.
The row was triggered by allegations from the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, which claimed on Sunday that Obasanjo is covertly scheming to secure a second term for President Bola Tinubu by destabilising the opposition.
The forum’s president, Akin Malaolu, pointed to a recent letter written by Obasanjo to former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba, wherein Obasanjo accused his former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, of plotting his impeachment with the late House Speaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba, as a calculated move to weaken opposition unity.
Malaolu further alleged that Obasanjo’s endorsement of a joint Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ticket featuring Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso is a diversionary tactic. According to the group, the former president is collaborating with a member of Tinubu’s family to retain power for his fellow South-Westerner. Malaolu also censured Obasanjo for invoking the name of Na’Abba, noting that the late Speaker “is incapable of a right of reply” unless he “be resurrected from the dead.”
However, Obasanjo’s former political adviser, Dr Akin Osuntokun, sharply refuted the forum’s claims during an interview on ARISE Television on Sunday, dismissing the idea of a secret pact with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as “absolute bunkum.”
Osuntokun asserted that Obasanjo remains the chief architect and sponsor of the Obi-Kwankwaso opposition alliance. He clarified that the former president personally brokered the pairing between both politicians, revealing that conversations regarding their partnership had been underway since before the previous election cycle.
“If you can say that Obasanjo is supporting any ticket, it is the Peter Obi–Kwankwaso ticket. As a matter of fact, he is the principal sponsor of that ticket… He was the one who brought the two men together.”
The friction comes as opposition parties intensify coalition talks to present a united front against the APC in 2027.