Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has stated that the backing of former President Muhammadu Buhari is not needed to challenge President Bola Tinubu in future elections.
Lawal dismissed those seeking Buhari’s approval as “chasing shadows,” asserting that the political movement aiming to unseat Tinubu stands on its own.
Lawal, a prominent figure in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), expressed deep dissatisfaction with the direction of the current administration, accusing it of betraying the CPC’s founding mission to uplift the poor.
“The CPC was a Talakawa Movement. These guys have given us a reason to come against them… It is as if the sight of a poor person annoys them,” he remarked.
He confirmed the existence of an emerging political alliance involving opposition heavyweights like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Nasir El-Rufai. According to him, the group is fully formed and united, and there is no need for Buhari’s endorsement.
“We don’t need his blessing. We only needed to tell him what we wanted to do because we were adults,” Lawal stated. “If he offered to support us, we would respectfully decline. Oga, please keep off. You are too big for us.”
In response to recent criticisms from some CPC veterans like Adebayo Shittu—who dismissed the CPC as a “dead horse”—Lawal fired back, branding Shittu as a “black sheep” who never truly believed in the CPC’s ideals. “We know that not everybody can withstand hunger… Some were there just for what they could get.”
Lawal maintained that while some former CPC members are now aligning with Tinubu’s administration in pursuit of political appointments, he remains focused on forming a credible alternative to what he describes as a government fostering “hunger, injustice, and division.”
