REWIND: In 2010, Obasanjo said even election conducted by Jesus Christ in Nigeria will be disputed

On Monday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo asked President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the concerns raised over the alleged discrepancies regarding the results of the general election.

On Saturday, Nigerians voted in the presidential and national assembly elections, but voting in some polling units in the country was rescheduled due to logistic reasons and violence.

Over the last 48 hours, the major opposition parties — Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) — have alleged that the results being declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are manipulated.

On Monday, agents of some political parties, including Dino Melaye of the PDP, staged a walkout at the national collation centre in Abuja during the presentation of results.

Before the walkout, Melaye had alleged that there were discrepancies in the results that collation officers brought to Abuja.

Reacting to the controversy trailing the presidential election results, Obasanjo said polls should be rescheduled in areas affected by disruptions.

“The chairman of INEC may claim ignorance but he cannot fold his hands and do nothing when he knows that the election process has been corrupted and most of the results that are brought outside BVAS and server are not true reflection of the will of Nigerians who have made their individual choice,” the former president had said.

Responding to Obasanjo’s comment, the federal government asked the former president not to “truncate” the ongoing electoral process in the country.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said Obasanjo presided over the worst elections since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.

Obasanjo was the president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, and was elected on the platform of PDP.

The 2007 election, which was conducted during the Obasanjo administration, was widely described as a “sham”.

In 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan said the 2007 election that brought him into power as vice-president caused him a lot of embarrassment.

THE JESUS ANALOGY

After leaving office, on numerous occasions, Obasanjo had to defend the outcome of the controversial 2007 general election.

On April 29, 2010, speaking at the Leon Sullivan dialogue on Nigeria at the National Press Club, Washington DC, the former president said not even Jesus Christ can conduct an election in Nigeria that would not be disputed.

“With all due respect, if Jesus Christ could come to the world and be the chairman of INEC, any election he would conduct will be disputed,” Obasanjo was quoted in media reports.

The report has been archived here.

Obasanjo’s comment was criticised by some Christian leaders, while Lai Mohammed, the then spokesperson of the defunct Action Congress (AC), criticised the former president for the “blasphemous and uncouth” comment.

In another interview in April 2010, Obasanjo said the 2007 election was “fair” and that it reflected the wishes of Nigerians.

“That election was fair. There is no election that we have had in Nigeria that has not been disputed. The election was disputed but it reflected the will of the people of Nigeria,” the former president had said.

Speaking further in response to a question of Nigeria moving into a one-party state at the time, Obasanjo had said there was nothing wrong with that.

“What is wrong with that? If the people of Nigeria decide to vote for PDP, will PDP go to them and say ‘please don’t vote for us’?” he asked.

REWIND: In 2010, Obasanjo said all Nigerian elections are always disputed (video)#electionresults2023 pic.twitter.com/n7XanChSlR

— TheCable (@thecableng) February 28, 2023