According to Babafemi Ojudu, a former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, former President Muhammadu Buhari never backed his then-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s bid for president.
Ojudu added that despite their relationship and political affiliation, Buhari did not support Bola Tinubu, the current president, because Tinubu “outmaneuvered him in several ways.”
He said this on Monday when he spoke on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs podcast.
Ojudu, who worked in the former vice president Yemi Osinbajo’s office, added that his former principal was capable of doing far better than Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president at the moment.
Remember that in the APC primary before the 2023 elections, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi received 316 votes, while Bola Tinubu received 1,271 votes to obtain the party’s presidential ticket. Senate President Ahmed Lawan received 152 votes, while former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received 235 votes and came in third.
“I saw it coming, I knew Osinbajo was going to lose the primary,” Ojudu stated. During our discussion, I repeatedly stated that the system we were and are now using only accounts for 40 percent of the efforts we are making, such as traveling, persuading others, and speaking to delegates.
60% of it is in Buhari’s hands, and we won’t make any progress until he rallies his supporters, including the governors and his advisers.
“I used to call Buhari a one-man majority because he never rallied his team to support Osinbajo, and I believe Tinubu outwitted him in a lot of ways.”
He went on to compare the loss of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s leadership to the inability to elect Professor Yemi Osinbajo in the previous presidential election.
“This country would have benefited from Osinbajo. He was on par with Awolowo in terms of skill, capacity, passion, and dedication, so to me, it feels like losing him a second time.