Former President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly did not support Yemi Osinbajo’s bid for the presidency in 2023.
In the biography ‘From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’, written by Charles Omole, the former president didn’t back Osinbajo primarily because president Bola Tinubu was in the presidential race.
Omole said Buhari found it “strange” that Osinbajo would contest against Tinubu, whom he regarded as the vice-president’s political benefactor.
Quoting sources close to the late president, Omole said Buhari remarked: “I don’t know Osinbajo from anywhere; I met him only through Tinubu”.
The author said Tinubu’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer in the 2023 election was seen as a reward for his pivotal role as a “political godfather” and “major financier” of the party.
Omole added that a “powerful cabal” within the Buhari administration had an anti-Tinubu consensus and plotted to impose another candidate at the APC primary.
However, Buhari’s strict adherence to rules and insistence on a free and fair process inadvertently thwarted those plans, indirectly paving the way for Tinubu’s victory.
“Ironically, Buhari’s strict enforcement of the rules may have indirectly aided Tinubu, as Buhari’s fastidiousness repeatedly thwarted the cabal’s plans to impose another candidate,” Omole wrote, adding that Buhari personally opposed any consensus arrangement when informed of it.
The author said he was informed by sources that Buhari was unimpressed with Osinbajo for merely “informing” him of his ambition rather than seeking his advice or consultation.
“The president was quoted as having wondered how his vice-president could go against his benefactor in such an open way,” Omole wrote.
On another note, Omole noted that Aisha Buhari’s open support for Tinubu’s candidacy irked the cabal, but she remained unfazed.
“Aisha Buhari’s enthusiastic support for Tinubu’s candidacy challenged the powerful cabal. However, she remained unconcerned,” he wrote.
“Seeing her exuberance, Tinubu visited Aisha and asked for her assistance in organising the women’s campaign with his wife, Sen. Remi Tinubu. She agreed, and the APC Women’s Campaign Council was established.”
