By Grateful Ogunjebe
The Presidency has dismissed comments made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, which appeared to downplay the role of President Bola Tinubu in the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi in a statement on Wednesday, said Mustapha’s remarks at a public book launch amounted to a deliberate misrepresentation of recent political history.
He described the attempt to sideline Tinubu’s contributions as inaccurate and Historically misleading.
He said: “Let’s even leave the general election that the then General Buhari won to become president in 2015, there was no way he would have won the election to be president without first becoming the presidential candidate of his party APC.
“General Buhari would not have won the APC primary election at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, in 2014 without President Tinubu, who mobilized the APC governors and the South West delegates to move Buhari’s way.”
Buhari, who had contested and lost presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011, only secured victory in 2015 under the APC, a new party formed through a merger of key opposition blocs. Ajayi argued that Buhari’s success at the polls followed his emergence as the APC candidate, a development that would not have been possible without Tinubu’s pivotal support.
He maintained that the primary election was a crucial turning point in Nigeria’s democratic process, and that Tinubu’s influence was not only strategic but decisive. Ajayi criticised Mustapha’s statements, warning against what he called revisionist narratives aimed at diminishing the contributions of key political figures.
Ajayi stressed that Tinubu’s political capital, especially in the South West, served as a bridge between Buhari’s Northern support base and the rest of the country. Without that national appeal, Ajayi noted, Buhari’s previous campaigns had failed despite consistently drawing millions of votes in the North.
“Former SGF Boss Mustapha did a disservice to our recent history with that unnecessary glib at the book launch today.
“Every effort and support that made it possible for President Buhari to win should never be diminished,” he stated.
He concluded by reminding critics that Buhari’s consistent support from Northern voters estimated at 12 million was not enough to deliver him the presidency until broader national alliances were formed.
“Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011,” Ajayi added.
