Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed how he lost the 1998 local elections in Ogun State after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refused to endorse his plan to bribe the police and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials. .
Speaking at a high-level conference on “Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa” held in Abeokuta on Monday, November 20, Obasanjo said the party leaders proposed the allocation of funds to the police and INEC. However, he rejected the offer, saying he believed these officials were already civil servants
Obasanjo explained what happened and noted the impact of what he called the “Nigerian factor” on the election. He explained that his party lost the first local elections because it did not incorporate the so-called “Nigerian factor” into its planning.
You mentioned the Nigerian factor when it comes to issues. The first thing I learned about politics was the Nigerian factor.
The first election took place in 1998. We had a party and we met at my office here in Abeokuta and they came to me and said, “Look, there is money for INEC, there is money for the police.” At one point I thought: “This is stupid! The police don’t pay and neither does INEC?”
“They said, ‘We do it this way. I told them, “You can’t do that,” and they didn’t do it. Of course, we lost all our local governments. I lost everything. Then they came to me and said, “Baba, have you seen?” If we let it happen all the time, we’re going to win.” And I felt guilty.
“I stayed at home during the next parliamentary elections. I said, “Do whatever you want, I’m not involved.” So I didn’t go. But the result was the same. One of the people who received the money did not even distribute it where it was supposed to,” Obasanjo said