I Defeated Obasanjo In The 1999 Election But Military Denied Me The Victory – Olu Falae

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, has claimed that he won the 1999 presidential election against former President Olusegun Obasanjo by 1.5 million votes, but was denied victory by the military.

Falae submitted that the military manipulated the result to favour Obasanjo because they feared that he would probe their regime if he emerged as the President of Nigeria.

Naijaonpoint reports that Chief Falae made the claim on Thursday during an interview with Arise News to mark the 2025 June 12 Democracy Day.

According to him, his lawyer was also able to establish in court that the votes from the 1999 presidential election were duplicated to favour Obasanjo and edge him out of the race.

“Yes, we fought for Democracy. In February 1999, I contested a presidential election with my boss and now friend, General Olusegun Obasanjo. It was clear to everybody that I won the election.

“Remember, I went to court, I hired the late Chief G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN) as my lawyer. G.O.K. was able to establish that the results that were duplicated and counted, I won by 1.5 million votes.

“And I was told much later by the late Deinde Fernandez that he had seen the results of the election in America, and that I won a landslide victory. I have no doubt in my mind, and most Nigerians have no doubt whatsoever.”

“Clearly, the military was jittery about a truly brave civilian taking over from them, but they would rather go for a hybrid civilian (politician) in the person of General Obasanjo,” Falae said.

How Could I Be That Stupid?

Speaking further, Falae said he could not have been stupid enough to probe a government he was a part of, as feared by the military authorities.

“What I was told was that they are afraid that if I become President, I might decide to probe the military. That is ridiculous because I served five years in Babangida’s government. First as secretary for four years, and then as minister for one year. How could I be so stupid that I would probe a government of which I was a part of?” he stated.

Naijaonpoint recalls that Falae contested the 1999 presidency on a joint ticket representing the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All People’s Party (APP) while Obasanjo contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).