Former President Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t hold back on Friday—calling his choice of Atiku Abubakar as running mate in the 1999 election the “greatest mistake” of his life.
Speaking at a Lagos event hosted by musician-activist Charly Boy to launch his foundation and memoir, “999: A Tribute to Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa,” Obasanjo said with hindsight, he’d never have made that pick.
“I would say the greatest mistake I made was picking Atiku Abubakar as my vice president in 1999,” he declared.
Still, he thanked God that Atiku’s “actions and overreactions” didn’t derail his administration. “Despite everything, I achieved what I set out to do,” Obasanjo added.
He also shut down long-standing rumours about his origins, insisting his parents were from Abeokuta, Ogun State. “I still know our family house there,” he said.
The star-studded event drew heavyweights like ex-Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and tech mogul Leo Stan Ekeh—who donated N20 million each on behalf of Obasanjo and Anyaoku.
Obasanjo and Atiku ruled together under the PDP from 1999 to 2007, but their political fallout has been public and bitter for years.
