Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo says he will "consider withdrawing" from the country's governing party until it gets rid of a top financier wanted in the US for alleged drug trafficking.
The political bombshell in the run up to 2015 presidential elections comes in a letter dated January 7 and leaked to reporters on Saturday.
Obasanjo cites the elevation to regional party chief of Buruji Kashamu, "a wanted habitual criminal" whose extradition has been requested by the US.
Kashamu has said the 2009 indictment is a case of mistaken identity and refers to his deceased brother.
President Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party has fractured over his perceived desire to run for re-election.
It recently lost its majority in the House of Representatives when dozens of legislators defected to an opposition coalition.
