Tuesday, July 21, 2026

God saved me from mistake of picking Atiku as my vice president: Obasanjo

Mr Atiku is the Peoples Democratic Party flag bearer for the 2023 presidential election.

• June 25, 2022

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says God saved him from the “mistake” of picking Atiku Abubakar as his vice president in 1999.

Mr Atiku is the Peoples Democratic Party flag bearer for the 2023 presidential election.

“I don’t say I don’t make mistakes – I made many of them. But one thing that has happened to me is that God has never disappointed me. And that is very important.

“For instance, one of the mistakes I made was picking a number two when I was going to become President. But because it is a genuine mistake, God saved me out of it,” Mr Obasanjo said.

The former president disclosed this while speaking in Abeokuta at a leadership and entrepreneurship mentoring session with selected school students.

At Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, Mr Obasanjo had emerged as the president with Mr Atiku as his deputy under the PDP platform.

The duo of Mr Obasanjo and Mr Atiku won reelection in 2003, however, Mr Atiku became Mr Obasanjo’s political adversary for opposing the president’s third term bid.

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