Tinubu Outsmarted Buhari to Win APC Presidential Ticket – Babafemi Ojudu
Babafemi Ojudu, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed that Buhari did not support Bola Tinubu or Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary.
Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s podcast State Affairs on Monday evening, Ojudu said Tinubu used strategic maneuvers to outwit Buhari and secure the APC presidential ticket.
He explained;
“I knew Osinbajo was going to lose the primary; I saw it coming. Because of the system we operated and still operate, I kept saying at our meetings that all of the efforts we were making—traveling around, convincing people, addressing delegates—was only 40 percent. Sixty percent of it lies in Buhari’s hands. Unless and until Buhari mobilized people around him, the governors, and his aides, we were going nowhere.”
Ojudu claimed that Buhari’s lack of support for Osinbajo was evident, adding that the former president also did not favor Tinubu.
He said, “I used to refer to Buhari as a one-man majority, and he never mobilized his team towards Osinbajo. Tinubu, on the other hand, outsmarted him in so many different ways.”
Ojudu’s comments shed light on the political dynamics leading up to the 2023 presidential elections. Amid speculations at the time, there were claims that Buhari preferred Ahmad Lawan, the then Senate President, as the APC candidate. However, the primary results told a different story. Tinubu won overwhelmingly, securing 1,271 votes, far ahead of Rotimi Amaechi, who had 316 votes, Osinbajo with 235 votes, and Lawan with 152 votes.
Reflecting on Tinubu’s success, Ojudu said that Buhari’s silence and failure to rally support for any particular candidate created an opportunity for Tinubu to take charge. “Buhari never mobilized for Osinbajo, and that was a major factor. Tinubu saw the gap and filled it strategically,” he remarked.
The insights from Ojudu’s account underline the significance of both strategy and influence in Nigeria’s political landscape, particularly in determining the outcome of the APC presidential primaries.
