Behind closed doors: Duke uncovers Babangida’s warning to Obasanjo about Atiku

Former Cross River governor Donald Duke has disclosed that ex-military ruler Ibrahim Babangida once bluntly warned Olusegun Obasanjo against trusting his then deputy, Atiku Abubakar, declaring, “This one cannot rule Nigeria.” According to TheCable, Duke made the revelation in a new book, Seun Oloketuyi’s “How to Win Elections in Nigeria,” chronicling intrigues from Nigeria’s fourth republic.

Duke recounted a tense presidential villa meeting where Babangida, alongside Abdulsalami Abubakar, privately cautioned Obasanjo amid rising distrust over Atiku’s loyalty ahead of the 2003 re-election bid, exposing how deep political betrayal fears ran within the PDP leadership at the time.