Why I Exposed Obasanjo’s Third Term Agenda To Senate – Ben Obi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ben Obi, has revealed how he exposed the third-term agenda of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on his return to the Senate.

Speaking in Abuja over the weekend, at the 70th birthday celebration of a legal practitioner and philanthropist, Amobi Nzelu, Obi said Obasanjo tried to seek a third term in office by attempting to replace some Senators with his cronies.

This comes days after the former President distanced himself from speculations that he wanted a third term. Obasanjo noted that if he had the desire to contest for a third term as president of Nigeria, he would have gotten it.

Senator Obi who represented Anambra Central in the fifth Senate recalled his unpleasant political relationship with Obasanjo, and how his mandate and that of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were stolen by the administration of Obasanjo.

He also claimed that after winning both the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and general election unopposed, Obasanjo allegedly hijacked his mandate and gave it to one Ikechukwu Anya, who was not even a contestant for the Senate seat at the primary but a governorship aspirant.

Obi stated that he was able to expose Obasanjo’s third term project because he was in the system and so he knew about it, adding that the project would have destroyed the country’s democracy.

He narrated: “After winning both the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and general election unopposed, my mandate was hijacked by Obasanjo and given to one Ikechukwu Anya, who was not even a contestant for the Senate seat at the primary but a governorship aspirant.

“That was how I spent two years in court. But before going to court, I told President Obasanjo that his actions were not fair, and that I won both my primary and general elections unopposed. I told him I was going to fight the injustice and he said I should go ahead.

“In my own case, there were 33 rulings in three years and I won all of them. Nine judgments were also delivered unanimously in my favor.

“So, when I came into the Senate, together with my team of lawyers including Chief Chris Uche SAN and Amobi Nzelu, (the celebrant), I announced that the Eagle had landed.

“That was when I exposed the third term project because I was in the system and so I knew about it. That is when we started the battle against it and thank God, we successfully battled the project and killed it.

“Even people in the office of the President (Obasanjo) were jumping and jubilating that the project was killed because it would have destroyed our democracy.”