"Buhari would not have won the APC primary election ... in 2014 without President Tinubu, who mobilised the APC governors and the South West delegates to move Buhari's way."
The Presidency has strongly rejected former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha's assertion that President Bola Tinubu did not play a decisive role in the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as President in 2015.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Public Affairs, described Mr Mustapha's comments as a "disservice to our recent history".
He said without Mr Tinubu's political strength and strategic mobilisation, Mr Buhari would not have secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the first place.
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Mr Ajayi made the remarks in a statement he posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday
He was responding to Mr Mustapha's speech at the launch of According to the President, a book authored by Mr Buhari's former spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in Abuja. At the event, Mr Mustapha reportedly downplayed Mr Tinubu's role in Mr Buhari's rise to power.
Mr Ajayi countered this narrative, pointing to the pivotal 2014 APC presidential primary held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, where Mr Tinubu's influence among APC governors and South West delegates tilted the contest in Mr Buhari's favour.
"There was no way he (Buhari) would have won the election to be president without first becoming the presidential candidate of his party APC," Mr Ajayi said.
"General Buhari would not have won the APC primary election at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, in 2014 without President Tinubu, who mobilised the APC governors and the South West delegates to move Buhari's way," the presidential spokesperson said.
He further argued that while Mr Buhari had a consistent support base of around 12 million votes from the North, it took Mr Tinubu's backing and strategic alliance-building to translate that into a nationwide victory.
"Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011," Mr Ajayi said. "Every effort and support that made it possible for President Buhari to win should never be diminished."
Buhari's 2015 Victory
In the 2015 presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, flying the APC flag, defeated the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), marking the first time in Nigeria's history that a sitting president was defeated in a general election.
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Mr Buhari polled 15,424,921 votes to Mr Jonathan's 12,853,162, winning in 21 of the 36 states and securing strong support across the North and Southwest.
The victory was a culmination of a broad coalition formed through the merger of several opposition parties and strategic alliances, particularly with political forces in the South West--led by Mr Tinubu.
Tinubu's "Emi Lokan" Claim
In the run-up to the 2023 elections, then-presidential aspirant Bola Tinubu famously reminded the APC of his central role in Mr Buhari's rise to power.
Speaking at a rally in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, he declared, "It is my turn (Emi Lokan). If not for me that stood behind Buhari, he wouldn't have won. He tried the first, second and third time, but he failed. He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again."
The comment was widely interpreted as Mr Tinubu asserting his right to the APC presidential ticket based on past political sacrifices, especially his support for Mr Buhari in 2015.
The renewed controversy stirred by Mr Mustapha's remark, and the Presidency's firm pushback, underscore the ongoing jostling over legacy, loyalty, and historical credit within Nigeria's ruling party.
