How Obasanjo Allegedly Offered N70 Million Bribe to Lawmakers for Third-Term Support – Senator Adeyeye

Senator Olusola Adeyeye has revealed how former President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly attempted to bribe National Assembly members with N70 million each in 2006 to secure support for his failed third-term agenda.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, Adeyeye detailed the pressure lawmakers faced and the financial incentives dangled before them to extend Obasanjo’s stay in power beyond 2007. He recalled how he was deliberately sidelined from key discussions by being sent on a trip to China. While in Amsterdam en route to China, he discovered through a newspaper report that critical deliberations were taking place in his absence.

Adeyeye credited then-Speaker Aminu Bello Masari for shielding him, explaining that although Masari appeared to support the president, he was secretly against the third-term agenda. He further disclosed that he was the first to expose the bribery attempt, but his revelations were ignored by the media. A principal officer of the National Assembly initially told him that lawmakers were to receive N50 million each, but the amount was later raised to N70 million.

The senator emphasized that stopping Obasanjo’s third-term bid required massive public pressure from the press, labor unions, and academics. The controversial proposal sparked nationwide opposition, with resistance coming not only from civil society groups and opposition parties but also from members of Obasanjo’s own Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Obasanjo, who had previously ruled Nigeria as a military head of state from 1976 to 1979 before returning as a civilian president in 1999, faced fierce resistance when reports surfaced that he was seeking a constitutional amendment to allow for a third term. Despite intense lobbying and allegations of financial inducements, the National Assembly overwhelmingly rejected the proposal in May 2006, marking a significant victory for Nigerian democracy.