Former House of Representatives Minority Leader Farouk Aliyu has alleged that he was offered ₦250 million to back former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s attempt to secure a third term in office in 2006.
Speaking on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, Aliyu detailed how he was pressed to support the controversial constitutional amendment designed to extend Obasanjo’s tenure.
He claimed the late-stage push involved former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, who persuaded him to return to Abuja for discussions after he initially refused to meet with the president.
Aliyu alleged that once in Abuja, an unnamed individual offered him ₦250 million to flip his vote.
“Third term was real. In fact, ₦250 million was given to me. I didn’t take it,” he said, adding that higher sums were offered to top principal officers—including ₦500 million to then-Speaker Aminu Masari and ₦400 million to Majority Leader Abdul Ningi, both of whom he says also rejected the bribes.
The former lawmaker stated that despite the pressure, he told organizers the tenure extension “wouldn’t fly” and maintained his opposition alongside standard members who were allegedly offered ₦50 million each.
Aliyu’s comments directly challenge assertions made by Obasanjo, who publicly maintained as recently as late 2025 that he never asked anyone to support a third-term agenda.
The original 2006 constitutional amendment collapsed in the National Assembly in May 2006, terminating the effort.
