BY AHMED AKANBI
Former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, has alleged that ex-military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, warned former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to trust his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, and declared him unfit to rule Nigeria.
Duke made the claim in a new book by Seun Oloketuyi, ‘How to win elections in Nigeria’, which documents political intrigues in the early years of the Fourth Republic.
According to Duke, friction between Obasanjo and Atiku worsened ahead of the 2003 presidential election, amid doubts within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about Atiku’s loyalty to Obasanjo’s re-election.
He said about 10 governors, including himself, met with then PDP National Chairman, Solomon Lar, to discuss alternatives to Atiku as running mate.
The discussion angered Obasanjo, who called Duke late at night to complain about betrayal by his deputy.
“I urged him to remain calm and promised to fly to Abuja the next morning,” Duke recalled.
The next day, a meeting was held at the Presidential Villa with Obasanjo, Atiku, Babangida and former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Duke said Atiku had arranged the meeting with the former military rulers to douse tension over Obasanjo’s second-term bid.
”During the meeting, Babangida reminded Obasanjo of agreements allegedly reached after his release from prison, and said getting Northern leaders’ backing for a second term would be tough. When Obasanjo asked if it was final, Babangida said room for negotiation remained,” he stated.
Duke said the more critical conversation came after, when Babangida told Obasanjo he had left his keys in the president’s private study and asked him to come along.
Alone in the room, Babangida allegedly dropped diplomacy.
“I warned you not to trust that your deputy,” he reportedly told Obasanjo.
Duke further claimed that on returning to the others, Babangida looked at Atiku and told Obasanjo: “This one cannot rule Nigeria.”
He said the episode exposed the depth of mistrust in the Obasanjo-Atiku relationship.
“Betrayal is a very crazy thing in politics,” Duke said.
The rift has continued since 1999–2007, with both men accusing each other of corruption, governance failures and betrayal.
It flared again on July 24 when Obasanjo alleged that Atiku gave late Speaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba N5 million to start impeachment proceedings against him in his first term.
On August 1, Obasanjo repeated the claim during a chat with Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, in Lagos, and said he regretted picking Atiku as Vice President.
Atiku, now ADC presidential candidate for 2027, rejected the claims as false and politically motivated, saying he has no regrets about opposing Obasanjo’s third-term agenda.
Duke’s account adds fresh detail to the decades-long rivalry between the two former leaders.