Former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba, yesterday, recalled the alleged electoral conspiracy that removed him from office in 2003, saying results of the election were manipulated in favour of his opponent.
The former governor made the revelation at the book launch and 60th birthday of his former Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kayode Odunaro, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He revealed that he knew he would lose the election, following last minute reports from security agencies. He said the election was already concluded and results fabricated, but despite this knowledge, he gave in to the advice of his followers.
While commenting on the book, titled, Colour of Perception – An Autobiography, Osoba recalled: “I was warned. The electoral officer from Cross River had told me after the Presidential election, ‘Chief, don’t contest the governorship; it is concluded,’ but I said no.”
He said he refused to challenge the outcome of the election at the tribunal, despite evidence at his disposal, because “I have put it behind me”.
He said: “2003 is bygone, whatever happened. Although, in his (Odunaro) book, he concluded that I refused to go to court. Yes, I did, because the evidence was too much and he alluded to some of the evidence. But let’s forget about all that. It is gone. The Ogun State people have had the chance to compare and contrast and they have given their conclusions and that is private to everybody.”
Osoba described the author of the book as a courageous man, who was dedicated to his job as a journalist. He, however, disagreed with some aspects, particularly events that surrounded the 2003 general elections, saying: “Odunaro was just being dodgy; he didn’t want to offend anybody.”
In his welcome address, Oduanro said he decided to write the autobiography to expose his work experience to the world, especially upcoming journalists and media managers.
