Obasanjo Agrees To Leave

Reuters, South Africa

There is no happy ending for the sit-tight run of President Olusegun Obasanjo, as he sadly faced a future outside the thrown, and accepted the verdict of the National Assembly ruling out an extension of his tenure, even as he tried to suggest he never wanted a third term.

In a speech to party chieftains, Obasanjo blamed the media -- which had opposed the campaign to give him a third term -- for deepening divisions in Africa's most populous country, and condemned both sides for resorting to bribery and blackmail.

"As a political party, we should accept the verdict of the National Assembly," Obasanjo told the People's Democratic Party's top brass at an emergency meeting in the capital.

"On the basis of the constitution in hand, we must start to plan for elections next year."

Obasanjo called on the party to heal wounds caused by the divisive third-term campaign, which has emboldened the opposition and fuelled conflict across the nation.

Vice-President Atiku Abukakar, who wants to succeed his boss and had accused Obasanjo of trying to subvert the constitution against the popular will, was absent from the meeting.

Senators changed the country's political landscape on Tuesday by throwing out a bill to amend the constitution that would have let Obasanjo stand for a third term in 2007.

The surprise vote was greeted with dancing, shouts of joy and hugs among many senators, who had argued that the amendment was a threat to democracy in Africa's biggest oil producer.

Obasanjo, who never said where he stood on a third term but who many believed to be behind the campaign, said on Thursday the decision was a "victory for democracy".

Allegations that millions of dollars were spent to bribe lawmakers to support his third term tainted his image as a democrat and corruption fighter.

"Throughout the period, I resisted the invitation to be drawn on either side, I maintained studied silence. I was maligned, insulted and wrongly accused, but I remain where I am and what I am and I remain focused," he said.

Analysts said the closure of the third term chapter should ease tensions across multi-ethnic Nigeria, including the oil producing Niger Delta where militant attacks have curbed output, because every region now has a chance to take over in 2007.

ELECTIONS

A former military ruler, Obasanjo returned to power in 1999 elections that restored democracy in Africa's most populous nation after three decades of almost uninterrupted dictatorship.

Elections next year should mark the first time in Nigerian history that a civilian president hands over to another through elections, but the third-term campaign had jeopardised that.

The bid failed because it was opposed by so many different power bases in multi-ethnic Nigeria.

In the north, Nigeria's traditional seat of power, many thought they had a deal that power would return to their region in 2007 after eight years of Obasanjo, from the southwest.

Many now question whether the PDP, which became an instrument of the third term, can retain relevance as Obasanjo's powers wane. Some expect the party to collapse with him.

Analysts think Obasanjo will fight to scupper the candidacies of his deputy and former military rulers Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, who all spoke against the third term and all want to succeed him.

But he is in for a tough fight because these powerful figures are in the ascendancy and have a greater pool of political support than the president, who will have to rely on the powers of incumbency to frustrate them.

Obasanjo has no heir-apparent because the third term campaign precluded it, but many in the party now hope some new faces will emerge with the president's blessing.

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