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Nigeria Politics
Olu Falae Alleges He, Not Obasanjo, Won The 1999 Presidential Election
Olu Falae

According to a report by Vanguard, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and 1999 presidential candidate, Olu Falae, has claimed that he — and not Olusegun Obasanjo — was the true winner of the election that marked Nigeria’s return to democratic rule.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show as part of this year’s Democracy Day events, Falae alleged that the official results declared in 1999 did not reflect the true outcome of the poll.

He said his legal team had carefully examined the figures and discovered that he won by a significant margin.

“I was told by my lawyer, the late Chief JOK Ajayi, that I won the election by over a million votes after a meticulous assessment of the figures declared,” Falae revealed.

Despite this discovery, the elder statesman explained that his camp deliberately chose not to challenge the results in court.

He said his greater concern at the time was for Nigeria to transition smoothly to democratic governance after several years of military rule.

“But we decided not to go to court. We were more concerned about the country returning to democracy peacefully after years of military rule,” he stated.

Falae’s recent statement has reopened old discussions about the integrity of Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999.

Many Nigerians remember that election as a delicate arrangement aimed at pacifying the South-West region after the annulled 1993 presidential election widely believed to have been won by MKO Abiola.

Following the sudden death of military ruler General Sani Abacha in 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over and promised a swift handover to civilian rule.

This led to the 1999 general elections, with Obasanjo, a former military head of state, emerging as the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Falae, on the other hand, was the consensus candidate for both the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All People’s Party (APP).

His support base was strong in the South-West, where many believed the region deserved to produce the next president to compensate for the injustice of 1993.

While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Obasanjo winner, Falae’s latest claim has stirred fresh debate among historians, political commentators, and ordinary Nigerians.


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Daily Pill
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Nigeria Politics
National Honours Will Heal Agelong Historical Grievances Obasa
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Interesting Facts
Police rescue 11 victims in Katsina arrest 2 kidnappers in Delta
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Nigeria Politics
Aiyedatiwa forwards 12 commissioner nominees to Ondo Assembly
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Nigeria Politics
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