Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was not supportive of Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambitions and did not trust his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, to succeed him. According to Lamido, Buhari had instead favored ex-Senate President Ahmed Lawan as his preferred successor.
Lamido emphasized that Tinubu’s rise to the presidency was self-driven, asserting that Tinubu owed his success to no one. He pointed out that before the APC convention, Tinubu had confidently declared in Abeokuta, Ogun State, that it was his turn to lead Nigeria, while Buhari, who was reportedly indifferent, preferred another candidate.
“Buhari never liked Tinubu. He didn’t even trust his own Vice President, Osinbajo. He wanted Ahmed Lawan, but that was an unrealistic expectation. After eight years of a northern presidency, you can’t expect another northerner to take over, not in today’s Nigeria,” Lamido told Tribune Newspaper.
Lamido further remarked on Buhari’s inability to enforce his preferred candidate at the convention, leading to Tinubu’s victory, which was not due to Buhari’s support. “Tinubu knows his victory wasn’t from Buhari, so he owes him nothing,” he added.
There had been speculations before the 2015 presidential election that Buhari was against Tinubu’s emergence as the APC candidate. Allegedly, some officials within Buhari’s administration attempted to undermine Tinubu’s chances by redesigning the naira and creating artificial fuel shortages, hoping to sway voters away from Tinubu. In response, Tinubu famously declared “Emi Lokan,” meaning “It’s my turn,” during one of his campaigns.
