Olusegun Ariyo
Former presidential Special Adviser on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu outsnokered his predecessor, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
Ojudu said Buhari never supported his then Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Tinubu during the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential primary election.
He pointed out that Tinubu outsnokered Buhari in so many ways to pick the party’s ticket and eventually emerge as president.
Ojudu disclosed this while featuring on Edmund Obilo’s podcast ‘State Affairs’ on Monday evening.
According to Ojudu: “I knew Osinbajo was going to lose the primary, I saw it coming.
“Because of the system we operated and still operating, I kept saying at our meeting that all of the efforts we are making like travelling around, convincing people, and addressing delegates is only 40 percent.
“60 percent of it lies in Buhari’s hands unless and until Buhari mobilizes people around him, the governors, his aides, we are going nowhere.
“I used to refer to Buhari as a one-man majority and he never mobilized his team towards Osinbajo and I think Tinubu outsmarted him in so many different ways.”
In the build-up to the 2023 presidential elections, there were widespread claims that Buhari preferred the then Senate President, Ahmad Lawan over Osinbajo and Tinubu.
But results from the primary showed that Tinubu pulled 1, 271 votes, former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi pulled 316 votes to come second, Osinbajo had 235 votes, while Lawan got 152 votes.
