A former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has made it clear that there was no plan by Buhari to weaken or sabotage the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the official launch of his new book, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience”, scheduled for release on July 9, Shehu addressed various assumptions making the rounds about the transition from Buhari to Tinubu.
There have been ongoing debates suggesting that Buhari purposely delayed the removal of fuel subsidy until the last moment of his administration in 2023.
Some believe that this move was meant to stir unrest and public anger against the incoming Tinubu-led government.
This theory gained more attention after President Tinubu, during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023, declared that the fuel subsidy era was over.
Since then, many Nigerians have continued to complain about the rising cost of living and severe economic hardship.
However, Garba Shehu rejected these claims. He noted that, “Subsidy removal was not planned to undermine the President Tinubu-led government.”
He further explained that since both Buhari and Tinubu belonged to the same political group, the All Progressives Congress (APC), there was no logic behind the accusation that Buhari would set up Tinubu for failure.
“Both President Buhari and the incoming President, Bola Tinubu were members of the APC. So we couldn’t have planned to sabotage our own government,” he said.
Shehu also pointed out that Buhari was a man of strong moral values and honesty, who led with a clean conscience and left with his image untarnished.
“President Buhari was above corruption. He came to government with integrity and left with his integrity intact. He did his best. He did well for the country and history will be kind to him. President Buhari wasn’t a show man. He wanted his works to impact on Nigerians,” he added.
During the briefing, Shehu was asked about his decision to work for Buhari after previously serving as spokesman to Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president. He responded by saying he had no regrets about that choice.
“Why won’t I attack Atiku when I serve Buhari? We learn from history; you lean from people,” he said.
He also explained that it would have been improper to continue aligning with Atiku while serving in Buhari’s government, saying that President Buhari would not have placed his trust in him if he was still showing loyalty elsewhere.
