Tobias Sylvester
A former Senate President, Ken Nnamani has revealed the sacrifices he made to stop the third term bid orchestrated by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006.
In his newly released book, ‘Standing Strong: Legislative Reforms, Third Term and Other Issues of the 5th Senate’, Ken Nnamani revealed how Olusegun Obasanjo organized clandestine meetings to push his third term agenda.
According to him, senators elected on the platform of then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were promised automatic tickets in the 2007 elections if they agree to amend the constitution and grant Obasanjo an extra term.
He said, “Promises were made before the senate vote assuring many of the supporters of a straight ticket back to the national assembly. Huge sums of money were also said to have been offered to the lawmakers to back the third term agenda.
“We lost the opportunity of continuing with a crop of lawmakers who had gained experience in the culture of legislation but who were brazenly denied their party’s ticket because they stood against autocracy.
“The political party system as nurtured by Obasanjo was one where the party and the governors were in the pouch of the president and from the comfort of his bedroom he decided who went where.
“In my own case, my reelection to the senate was foreclosed because I was marked out as the principal figure among those that ended the infamous project.”
He said he knew he would not be given a level-playing field in the party primary so “I opted to take the High Road and stay out of the contest”.
KanyiDaily recalls that Olusegun Obasanjo had repeatedly denied he was involved in the plan to amend the constitution and grant him an extra term.
