A former senior aide to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has firmly dismissed claims that President Muhammadu Buhari opposed Osinbajo’s 2023 presidential ambition, describing recent accounts as misleading and historically inaccurate.
Babafemi Ojudu, who served as Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of the Vice President between 2016 and 2022, was responding to excerpts from a new book by Dr Charles Omole, Muhammadu Buhari: From Soldier to Statesman. The book has sparked controversy by suggesting tensions within the Buhari presidency over Osinbajo’s bid.
According to Ojudu, the suggestion that President Buhari was unsupportive is “implausible and mischievous”.
Drawing on his direct involvement at the highest levels of government, Ojudu said the issue of succession and Osinbajo’s possible presidential run was discussed personally between Buhari and his deputy on at least four occasions. On every one of those occasions, he said, Buhari gave his clear and unequivocal backing.
“President Buhari never advised Professor Osinbajo to step aside for anyone, nor did he express a preference for another aspirant,” Ojudu stated. “Instead, he consistently encouraged him to reflect, decide, and assured him of his full support.”
Ojudu revealed that during one of the later discussions, Buhari went further by describing Osinbajo as the best candidate to lead Nigeria, citing his deep understanding of government, loyalty, experience as Acting President, and capacity to provide continuity and stability.
This support, he added, was not limited to private conversations. Buhari publicly acknowledged Osinbajo’s nationwide consultations during Federal Executive Council meetings and encouraged him to engage governors and National Assembly leaders ahead of his declaration. After Osinbajo formally joined the race, Buhari reportedly reviewed and commended his declaration speech.
Ojudu also disclosed that several governors who consulted Buhari privately on Osinbajo’s ambition were told plainly that the Vice President was the best man for the job.
He argued that political reality alone undermines claims of presidential opposition. Osinbajo, he noted, lacked a personal political war chest or independent political machinery and could not realistically have pursued the presidency without Buhari’s approval and backing.
In a sharp rebuke of the book’s methodology, Ojudu criticised the failure to seek the accounts of key actors in the administration, describing such an approach as “advocacy masquerading as biography”.
“History is not written to settle scores,” he said. “Those who twist it for personal animus may enjoy fleeting attention, but they rarely survive the judgment of time.”
