Babafemi Ojudu, a former presidential adviser on political matters, revealed that President Bola Tinubu strategically outmaneuvered his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary elections.
Ojudu shared these insights on Monday while speaking on Edmund Obilo’s podcast, State Affairs. He claimed that Buhari did not support either his Vice President at the time, Yemi Osinbajo, or Tinubu in their bids to secure the party’s ticket.
Despite this lack of support, Tinubu managed to navigate the political landscape effectively, winning the APC presidential primary and eventually becoming Nigeria’s president.
Explaining the challenges Osinbajo faced during the primaries, Ojudu remarked, “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 traveling 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 primary election results, Tinubu garnered 1,271 votes, significantly outpacing other candidates. Rotimi Amaechi, the former Transportation Minister, came second with 316 votes, while Osinbajo and Senate President Ahmad Lawan secured 235 and 152 votes, respectively.
