Buhari Offered to Back Osinbajo’s 2023 Presidential Bid Four Times — Akande Replies Babachir Lawal

Former spokesperson to ex-Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has dismissed claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, that former President Muhammadu Buhari considered Osinbajo’s 2023 presidential ambition “highly immoral and distasteful.”

Akande, who served as Osinbajo’s spokesperson between 2015 and 2023, described the allegation as false, insisting that Buhari had personally offered to support the former vice-president’s presidential ambition on at least four separate occasions.

In a statement on Saturday, Akande said he decided to respond to Lawal’s claims because he was directly involved in the activities of Osinbajo’s office and witnessed discussions and decisions concerning the former vice-president.

According to Akande, Buhari had repeatedly expressed his willingness to support Osinbajo’s ambition, questioning who else he would support if not his vice-president.

“He asked him, ‘If I don’t support you, who will I support?’” Akande stated, recounting one of the occasions when Buhari allegedly offered his backing.

He also cited an incident during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign, when Buhari reportedly praised Osinbajo at a Federal Executive Council meeting for the manner in which he conducted his campaign.

Akande said the former president commended Osinbajo for running a dignified and issue-based campaign across the country, adding that members of the council witnessed the remarks.

“That is not a President who found Osinbajo’s ambition distasteful. That is a President who broached it, encouraged and applauded it,” Akande said.

Lawal, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had claimed in a recent interview that Buhari would have found it difficult to support Osinbajo’s presidential ambition because of his longstanding relationship with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former Lagos State governor who eventually secured the APC presidential ticket.

Osinbajo contested the APC presidential primary in June 2022 but finished third with 235 votes. Tinubu won the contest with 1,271 votes, while former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi came second with 316 votes.

Tinubu subsequently won the February 2023 presidential election to become Nigeria’s president.

Akande’s response has challenged Lawal’s account of Buhari’s position on Osinbajo’s presidential ambition, presenting a contrasting version of the former president’s alleged private assurances and public remarks during the APC primary campaign.