Adolphus Wabara, a former Senate President, has maintained that he declined a N250 million bribe to back the contentious third-term agenda that was put up under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s watch.
In a Monday-released clip from the Untold Stories with Adesuwa YouTube interview series, Wabara assertively said, “That’s very correct,” in response to an inquiry concerning the accuracy of this assertion.
Providing context to the political climate of that time, Wabara said, “Then when they were saying they were distributing N50 million per Senator, I didn’t believe it.”
Wabara also stated that his educational background played a huge role in rejecting the third-term agenda.
“I turned down a N250 million bribe to support the third term agenda. The money came to me by 1:30 a.m., before my third-term speech. It came in a sparkling black G-Wagon. I can still remember that it was in a black G-Wagon and a rickety 504 station wagon. The money was discharged, and my wife was there.”
The former Senate President also clarified a point about his departure from office. “First of all, I was not removed by Obasanjo, I resigned,” Wabara asserted.
When the interviewer suggested there might have been pressure for his resignation, Wabara countered, “No, there was even no pressure.”
Highlighting the significance of rejecting the third-term agenda, Wabara stated, “Without people like us, there wouldn’t be democracy now. Yes, if we had supported the third term, you know, I mean we would have had dictatorship, tyranny, and people like Buhari wouldn’t have emerged. Even the present Tinubu would not have emerged because Obasanjo would have still been there.”
Though the full conversation remains undisclosed, Wabara talked about the wider ramifications of their actions and the ongoing challenges the Igbo people confront.
He said, “We have not been forgiven for what we did not cause, the Biafra War. It wasn’t our fault, but the propaganda is that the Igbos cannot be trusted.”
