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No evidence former Nigerian president Obasanjo asked successor Jonathan for ‘forgiveness’

A Facebook post claims Olusegun Obasanjo, president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, has apologised for not supporting Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 bid for re-election.

Jonathan was president from 2010 to 2015, when he lost the poll to current president Muhammadu Buhari

“My Worst Mistake Was Electing BUHARI As A President, Nigerians Should Forgive me – Obasanjo Apologized To Nigerians,” the post reads.

A photo in the post shows Obasanjo and Jonathan together in 2015.

The post has been shared more than 2,100 times, attracting 573 comments so far. But did Obasanjo really ask for Jonathan’s – and Nigerians’ – forgiveness?


 

No reports in mainstream media


Obasanjo is known for writing letters to other Nigerian presidents, past and present, about national issues. The letters have been widely covered in the mainstream media

But there have been no reports of Obasanjo writing a letter to Nigerians and Jonathan, apologising for supporting Buhari in 2015. Such an apology would have been major news.

And it’s notable that the “apology” was posted on 5 February 2020, two days after newspapers published photos of Obasanjo and Jonathan meeting at the 2020 World Summit in Seoul, South Korea. Allwell Okpi
 


 

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