Obasanjo has publicly disowned his wife, calling her “an impostor.”

After pleading with Yorubas everywhere to forgive him for his remarks at the inauguration of projects led by the state governor, Seyi Makinde, on Friday in Iseyin, Oyo state, the former president Olusegun Obasanjo abandoned his wife, Taiwo Obasan, just 24 hours later.

In a report titled “Oyo Kings: A plea for forgiveness,” Taiwo pleaded with “all Yoruba sons and daughters worldwide, fathers and mothers, youths, teenagers, and children, Christians, Muslims, traditional worshippers, all leaders in Yoruba land, and the Council of Kings in Yoruba land” for forgiveness.

Obasanjo responded to the news by claiming that Taiwo, although having two children with him, is neither his wife nor a member of his family but rather a fraud.

The former President asserted that he stood strongly, unreservedly, and unwaveringly with the idea that a governor holds the highest office in a state and deserves to be treated with the respect that is guaranteed by the constitution.

This information was provided to media in a statement made by Chief Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi.

Only he, he claimed, could speak for the Obasanjo family or those he had authorized to do so.

Part of the statement states, “The attention of Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has been alerted to a statement allegedly released by the President’s wife with the photograph of one Ms. Taiwo Martins as the author of the statement.

To be clear, Ms. Martins is not Chief Obasanjo’s wife nor a member of the Obasanjo family, despite the fact that she is the mother of his two children, Jonwo and Bunmi.

She is acting like an impostor by claiming to be Chief Obasanjo’s wife. Only Chief Obasanjo or anyone he has authorized to speak on his or her behalf can make statements on behalf of the Obasanjo family.

The health status of Ms. Martins is well known to the general public, and whatsoever she says or does has no bearing on Chief Obasanjo personally or the Obasanjo family as a whole.

The former President has stated, however, that he adhered strongly, unreservedly, and uncompromisingly to the view that the governor of a state occupies the highest post in the state.

By holding that position, it is necessary to uphold the dignity, respect, and deference owed to the office by virtue of the constitution. Anything less would be a denigration of the position and the Constitution.