Babachir Lawal
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal has explained why he believes former President Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to support his former deputy Yemi Osinbajo as his successor in the 2023 presidential election.
Mr Lawal said ex-President Buhari’s belief in loyalty, his relationship with President Bola Tinubu and his concerns about Mr Osinbajo’s appointments and decisions while serving as acting president may have influenced his position.
He made the claims during an interview with Symfoni TV, where he recalled events from Buhari’s administration.
According to Lawal, Buhari might have considered it inappropriate for Osinbajo to contest against Tinubu, whom he said had recommended Buhari for the presidency.
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“Buhari would find it highly immoral, highly immoral. We didn’t discuss this with him, but he would find it very highly immoral for Osinbajo to contest the same position with Bola Tinubu,” Lawal said.
He added that Buhari valued loyalty and might have found the contest distasteful because of the relationship between the former president and Tinubu.
Lawal also alleged that Buhari was unhappy with some appointments made by Osinbajo, particularly those involving people connected to the church the former vice president attends.
“Buhari is aware that most of the appointments that Osinbajo would do were people from his church. Buhari was aware of this and he was not happy,” he said.
Lawal recalled an incident involving a memo Osinbajo reportedly sent to Buhari seeking approval for about 28 staff appointments.
He said the memo was not forwarded to Buhari for about three months, prompting him to obtain a copy from the then Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari and present it to Buhari.
According to Lawal, Buhari questioned the composition of the list after reviewing it, saying, “Bidi, these are all Yorubas.”
Babachir Lawal said he appealed to Buhari to approve the appointments, explaining that Osinbajo was new to government. He said the former president eventually approved the memo.
The former SGF further alleged that Osinbajo reversed some appointments approved by Buhari while the president was away receiving medical treatment.
He claimed Buhari was informed of the changes and sought their reversal but later chose not to pursue the matter to avoid embarrassment.
Lawal also said some Christian leaders in northern Nigeria had complained to Buhari that they were being overlooked in appointments despite supporting his administration.
He said these incidents may have influenced Buhari’s view of Osinbajo as a possible successor.
“I suspect that this excessive preference for his church members would affect Buhari,” Lawal said.
He added that he believed Buhari feared Osinbajo might adopt what he described as Tinubu’s approach to appointments if elected president.
Osinbajo served as vice president under Buhari from 2015 to 2023 and contested the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2022. Tinubu won the party’s primary and went on to win the 2023 presidential election.
Source:QEDNG
