A former Minister of Works and Housing, Adeseye Ogunlewe has revealed how former president, Olusegun Obasanjo stopped former military Head of State, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida from returning as President in 2011.
Ogunlewe said 2011 was the turn of Babangida to return as President and people have started campaigning for the former military head of state to return when Obasanjo ordered them to stop the campaign.
According to Ogunlewe, Obasanjo called all the South-West governors and party members to a meeting in Ibadan where he told them that they must support Jonathan and that anybody who dares him would be in trouble.
The former senator stated this during an interview with the PUNCH while reacting to how Goodluck Jonathan became the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate and Nigeria’s president in 2011.
He said; “Let me put the record straight, 2011 was the turn of IBB (Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida). We were already campaigning for IBB to come back. He had the structure already. We started the campaign. It was former President Obasanjo who went to Ibadan and called all the South-West governors; he called all our party members that no, it is Jonathan and that anybody who dares me would be in trouble. We then said whatever Baba (Obasanjo) said was the final. He said it must be Jonathan and not IBB and we agreed and it was going to be four years. We agreed. At the end of the fourth year, these hangers-on started to tell the man (Jonathan) you are going to win; win what? Is it so easy to win?”