Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed regret over his decision to choose Atiku Abubakar as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election, saying he would not have picked him had he known what he later came to learn about him.
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s president from 1999 to 2007, made the remark while reflecting on his political journey and the decision-making process that shaped his administration.
According to the former president, his choice of Atiku as vice-president was based on the information and circumstances available to him at the time. However, he said subsequent experiences and developments changed his perception of his former deputy.
Obasanjo and Atiku served together for eight years under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but their relationship became strained towards the end of their administration.
The disagreement between the two men later escalated into a major political rift, with Atiku eventually leaving the PDP and joining the Action Congress (AC) to contest the 2007 presidential election against the PDP candidate, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Reflecting on his decision, Obasanjo said he would have made a different choice if he had been aware of what he later discovered about Atiku.
The former president’s comments have renewed attention on the long-standing political relationship between the two former leaders, whose partnership was once considered one of the most influential political alliances in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
Atiku, a former vice-president, has remained a prominent figure in Nigerian politics and has contested the presidency several times since leaving office in 2007.