‘I Once Challenged Obasanjo For Speaking To Me Like His Cook’ –Late Audu Ogbeh In Final Interview

Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Audu Ogbeh, has recounted how a heated disagreement with then-President Olusegun Obasanjo over what he described as disrespectful treatment prompted his decision to resign from the party’s top seat.

Ogbeh, who had earlier narrated how an assassination attempt on his life cleared the path for Obasanjo to emerge as President, said the working relationship between them soured over time. Obasanjo was Nigeria's President between 1999 and 2007, serving for eight years.

According to Ogbeh, he was not forced to resign but chose to do so due to the manner and ways in which Obasanjo spoke to him on several occasions.

He said, “No. But there was a night we had a disagreement, and he spoke to me in a manner I didn’t like. The next day, we had a caucus meeting and I told him that he spoke to me in the presence of a lady as if I was his cook.

“I asked if he thought the job meant everything in the world. I didn’t earn a dime as party chairman. I asked if he had ever heard that I took a dime from the party’s fund, and he said no.

“I also asked if I had gone to him asking for money; so he shouldn’t talk to me like that," he recounted when asked if he was forced to resign as PDP chairman in an interview with Trust TV.”

The former party chairman said he did not mince words in telling the governors present that he was ready to walk away from the position immediately.

“Yeah. And all the governors were there. I said if they were tired, I would go to my house immediately and bring my letter of resignation, as the job didn’t mean anything to me. Many governors followed me and said I was the true son of my father,” he said.

Ogbeh explained that although Obasanjo did not react at the time, the incident made up his mind for him.

“He didn’t. After that, I made up my mind that I was going to resign. I wrote my letter here. The story that he brought out a pistol is not true. Presidents don’t carry pistols. I said I had had enough,” Ogbeh said.

“I decided to give it to him and leave because anything you are doing in this world that takes your dignity away is not worth it. Dignity comes from God who created you. So I resigned.”

His statements come even as he admitted that Obasanjo was a tough person to work with, an attribute that made it difficult for some persons within his cabinet to adapt to his style.

Ogbeh, whose death was reported on Saturday, resigned as the PDP Chairman in December 2005. He would later go on to serve as the Minister of Agriculture under the tenure of the late President Muhammadu Buhari. He served in the ministerial capacity between 2015 and 2019.