Obasanjo denies 3rd term aim
2005-05-02 13:03
Lagos - Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied that he is angling for a third term in office, saying that he had no such "hidden agenda" as politicians begin manoeuvring for the 2007 poll.
"When they talk about a hidden agenda, it is infuriating. It is annoying. Hidden agenda to do what? I don't do things like that," he said late on Sunday in an interview relayed on national television and radio stations..
He was reacting to speculations that the government nomination of most of the 400 delegates to the ongoing political reform conference was aimed at implementing Obasanjo's alleged gameplan for a third term.
"What I know is that people impugn to others what they will do if they were in that position. People judge by their own standard. If they are in that position, they will have hidden agenda and we must fight that," he said.
Some politicians, human rights organisations and individuals have often speculated that Obasanjo's actions, including his fight against corruption, are aimed at improving his domestic and international image in a bid to angle for a third term as civilian president.
Obasanjo, now 68, came into office in May 1999 after a democratic election. He was returned in May 2003 for a second four-year term.
Before then, he had been military head of state from 1976 to 1979, when he handed over power to an elected civilian president, Shehu Shagari, and retired to his sprawling and prosperous farm in Otta, outside Lagos.