Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says his decision to pick former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in 1999 was the biggest mistake of his presidency.
Speaking during a public event in Lagos, Obasanjo stated that while leadership naturally comes with missteps, selecting Atiku remained the single decision he would alter if given the opportunity.
The former president explained that hindsight and subsequent discoveries about his former deputy led to this stance, though he noted that divine intervention prevented the political friction from derailing national progress during their administration.
Obasanjo maintained that he holds no personal bitterness over the matter, characterizing the period as a reflection of individual choices and political outcomes.
Obasanjo and Atiku served as President and Vice President from 1999 to 2007 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), initially leading a unified executive focused on economic reform and privatization.
However, relations between the two leaders broke down during their second term. The rift widened significantly following Atiku’s opposition to proposed constitutional amendments that would have permitted a third presidential term.
The disagreement eventually culminated in a high-profile legal contest when the presidency declared the vice president’s seat vacant following Atiku’s defection to the Action Congress ahead of the 2007 elections. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the presidency, confirming that an elected vice president could not be administratively removed by the president.
Although the two leaders briefly reconciled during the 2019 general elections, their political relationship has remained distant, marked by public criticism and opposing viewpoints on leadership and governance.
