Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he rejected a proposal to make former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, his successor in 2007, citing El-Rufai’s lack of maturity at the time.

Obasanjo made the disclosure in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Friday, October 24, during the second edition of the Ajibosin Platform annual symposium, themed “Importance of Leadership in Governance.”

The former president explained that the idea had been put forward by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, who had recommended El-Rufai as a potential successor. El-Rufai served under Obasanjo’s administration as the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises before being appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007.

Recounting the events in a lighthearted exchange with Chidoka during the symposium, Obasanjo said, “He was pushing when I was leaving government that his friend, El-Rufai, should be brought in as my successor.” Turning to Chidoka, who was seated among the panelists, Obasanjo asked, “No be so?” to which the former minister nodded in agreement.

Obasanjo continued, “I did not yield to the pressure. Later, he said, ‘I suggested this person, why didn’t you agree?’ I said El-Rufai needed to mature. When I left government and, many years later, he saw the performances of El-Rufai, he came back to me and said, ‘You’re absolutely correct. El-Rufai needed to mature.’”

While he declined to endorse El-Rufai at the time, Obasanjo said he held respect for both El-Rufai and Chidoka, describing them as individuals with “special attributes” who contributed significantly to his administration’s success.

Speaking on the essence of leadership, Obasanjo stressed that true leadership requires character, exposure, experience, and proper training. “It’s only in politics that I found out there is no training for leadership,” he said. “Even among armed robbers, I was told there is apprenticeship. But it’s only in politics that there is no training in leadership. That’s not good enough.”

In his keynote address, Osita Chidoka argued that Nigeria’s challenges stem largely from what he called “the politics of alibi,” where excuses replace accountability. He said leadership should be measured not by speeches but by systems that ensure efficiency, transparency, and continuity.

“Leadership finds its true measure not in charisma but in the systems it leaves behind. Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of ideas; it is the absence of systems strong enough to outlive their authors,” Chidoka said. He urged leaders to move from rhetoric to measurable results through stronger accountability systems and institutional monitoring.

The symposium’s convener, Aare Olanrewaju Bakinson, said the event aimed to deepen the discourse on ethical and effective leadership. “Leadership is not just about power; it’s about responsibility, vision, and service,” he said.

Among those present at the event were Senator Shuaibu Salis (Ogun Central), the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola, the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, and former Ogun State First Lady, Mrs. Olufunsho Amosun.

The expelled National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Shehu Gabam, has insisted that he remains the legitimate chairman of the party.

In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by his Special Assistant (Legal), Abubakar Baba, the embattled SDP leader described his reported expulsion from the party as illegal, null, and void.

He condemned the move as a desperate attempt by impostors to destabilise the party, insisting that the purported action was unconstitutional and of no consequence.

Recall that Gabam, along with the National Youth Leader, Dr Ogbonna Uchechukwu, and several others, was expelled on Thursday following a meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, in Abuja.

Reacting to the development, Gabam said “the said meeting is illegal, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

Citing Article 13 (iv) of the SDP Constitution, which empowers only the National Chairman to preside over meetings of the National Convention, National Executive Committee, National Working Committee, and National Caucus, he said: “I remain the national chairman of the SDP. Any meeting convened or presided over without the consent of the duly recognised chairman constitutes a gross violation of its constitution and a brazen attempt to usurp legitimate authority.”

Gabam also criticised the National Secretary, Olu Agunloye, for allegedly writing to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to communicate the purported decisions of the meeting, describing the action as a breach of Part 2 (12) 3 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022.

The Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has dismissed allegations of forgery and signature cloning made by the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, as false and baseless.

This is contained in a statement issued by the BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in Abuja on Thursday.

Anyanwu had alleged that his signature was forged on the correspondence transmitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, regarding the party’s forthcoming elective convention.

Wabara said that the BoT would have preferred to refrain from engaging in matters of internal administrative procedure in the public domain.

He, however, said that the gravity of the allegation and its capacity to mislead party members and the general public necessitated a clear and factual clarification.

“It is on record that the said INEC notification letter was jointly signed by the National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and Anyanwu on August 25, during the 102nd meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the PDP.

“The signing took place in the presence of critical organs and stakeholders of the party, including members of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the BoT, and other NEC members who witnessed the process,” Wabara said.

He said that subsequent to that, Anyanwu was formally inaugurated as the Secretary of the Contact and Mobilization Sub-Committee for the 2025 National Convention.

Wabara added that in that capacity, Anyanwu co-signed official communications of the sub-committee, including letters of appointment issued to its members, alongside the Sub-Committee Chairman, Sen. Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State.