Chief Olu Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has asserted that he defeated former President Olusegun Obasanjo by 1.5 million votes in the 1999 presidential election; however, the military denied him victory.
Falae claimed that because the military was afraid that Obasanjo would question their system if he were elected president of Nigeria, they rigged the election to favor him.
In an interview with Arise News on Thursday to commemorate 2025 June 12 Democracy Day, Chief Falae reportedly made the assertion.
He said that his attorney was also successful in proving in court that Obasanjo was eliminated from the race by using duplicate ballots from the 1999 presidential election.
Indeed, we battled for democracy. General Olusegun Obasanjo, my boss and my buddy, and I ran for president in February 1999. Everyone could see that I had won the election.
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“Recall that I went to court and that I had the late Chief G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN) represent me. G.O.K. was able to prove that I had won by 1.5 million votes based on the results that were replicated and tabulated.
The late Deinde Fernandez later informed me that he had witnessed the election results in America and that I had won by a wide margin. The majority of Nigerians have no doubts at all, and neither do I.
“The military was obviously nervous about a truly courageous civilian succeeding them, but they would prefer to have a hybrid civilian (politician) like General Obasanjo,” Falae stated.
How Could I Have Such Ignorance?
Falae went on to say that, contrary to what the military authorities feared, he could not have been foolish enough to investigate a government of which he was a member.
I was informed that they are worried that I would choose to look into the military if I am elected president. I worked in Babangida’s administration for five years, so that is absurd. Four years as secretary, followed by a year as minister. “How could I be so foolish as to question a government that I served?” he said.
Recall that Obasanjo ran for president in 1999 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whereas Falae ran on a combined ticket representing the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All People’s Party (APP).
