Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a scathing rebuttal of claims by former Ogun State Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba that he received a delegation of Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors and Afenifere leaders in desperation ahead of the 2003 general elections.

Obasanjo insisted that no group of six governors could have dictated terms to a sitting President backed by an overwhelming national political structure.

In a lengthy response personally signed on Thursday, Obasanjo accused Osoba of presenting a distorted and inaccurate account of events leading to the 2003 elections.

He described the former governor's narrative as "farfetched" and rejecting suggestions that he deceived anyone or sought political rescue from the South-West governors.

Responding specifically to Osoba's claim that AD leaders, led by the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo, visited him at his Ota farm with proposals aimed at resolving the political crisis ahead of the election, Obasanjo said the account was both implausible and insulting.

"My dear brother Olusegun Osoba, I don't know what would best describe what you claimed was presented to me on my farm with Egbon Ayo Adebanjo leading: hyperbole, presumption, disregard, takeover or what?" he wrote.

The former President argued that it was inconceivable that six governors from one region could attempt to dictate the affairs of a President who had the backing of 21 PDP governors, nine APP governors, the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly and the ruling People's Democratic Party.

"Could you agree to such effrontery? Six to dictate to thirty is ridiculous," Obasanjo declared.

"I had an Executive Council, I had a National Assembly, I had a virile political party, 21 governors and nine other governors from another party with my government, and it was AD and Afenifere that would dictate to me what my government would do? You grossly underrated me."

Obasanjo maintained that while he was always willing to listen to political stakeholders, he never accepted political dictation from any group.

"I may listen and in politeness not answer back, but you should know I would not accept such dictation if you presented it," he said.

The former President further dismissed Osoba's portrayal of his efforts to engage opposition leaders after assuming office as evidence of political weakness, insisting that his outreach was a deliberate strategy to build national unity rather than a desperate attempt to survive politically.

According to him, his decision to accommodate members of the Alliance for Democracy and maintain cordial relations with opposition governors stemmed from his belief that politics should promote dialogue, tolerance and national cohesion.

He argued that bringing the AD into what he described as a "national government" was "out of strength, not weakness."

He stressed further that he had won the presidency with nearly 63 per cent of the national vote and therefore had no reason to seek political legitimacy from a regional bloc.

Obasanjo also faulted Osoba's account of the political dynamics preceding the 2003 elections, alleging that the six South-West governors had entered into a separate political understanding with then Vice President Atiku Abubakar without his knowledge.

He claimed the arrangement envisaged that the AD governors would face no electoral challenge in 2003 and, in return, would support the Vice President's presidential ambition in 2007.

"You were all convinced of this anti-democratic plan and you all fell for it," Obasanjo alleged.

The former President insisted that the defeat of five of the six AD governors in the 2003 elections reflected genuine electoral outcomes rather than any conspiracy orchestrated from the Presidency.

He maintained that his administration's engagement with opposition figures before and after the elections was driven by his long-held philosophy that political competition should never destroy personal relationships.

Chief Osoba had accused Obasanjo of deceiving the AD governors ahead of the 2003 election amd for the role they played in the impeachment plot against the then President.

HorizonTimes observe that Osoba's account of what happened during the period was contained in 'Battlelines: Adventure in Journalism And Politics' authored by Osoba and published in 2018 but recently culled by some online platforms.