Chief Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and 1999 presidential aspirant, has stirred fresh debate over Nigeria’s 1999 election by asserting that he was the rightful winner, not Olusegun Obasanjo. In an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show during Democracy Day events, Falae revealed that his late lawyer, Chief J.O.K. Ajayi, had meticulously reviewed the official election figures and informed him that he had won by a margin exceeding one million votes.
Falae, who ran on a joint ticket of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and All Peoples Party (APP), alleged that the declared results were manipulated to favor Obasanjo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate. “I was told by my lawyer, the late Chief JOK Ajayi, that I won the election by over a million votes after a meticulous assessment of the figures declared,” he stated.
Despite this, Falae chose not to challenge the results in court, prioritizing national stability and the peaceful return to civilian rule after years of military dictatorship. “We were more concerned about the country returning to democracy peacefully after years of military rule,” he said.
Falae’s candidacy was seen as a unifying move for the South-West region following the annulled 1993 election, which many believed was won by MKO Abiola. Both Falae and Obasanjo are Yoruba, but Obasanjo was widely regarded as the establishment’s preferred candidate. Reflecting on the political pressures of the time, Falae remarked, “There was so much pressure not to rock the boat. We made sacrifices for democracy to return. I accepted it in good faith then, but the truth must be told.”