Tinubu made Buhari president, Presidency fires back at Boss Mustapha over APC primary claim

The Presidency has pushed back against claims that no single individual was instrumental to Muhammadu Buhari’s rise to power, insisting that without Bola Tinubu’s decisive intervention, the former president would not have clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2014.

Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, made the assertion in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), countering remarks by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

Mustapha, while speaking at the launch of a book written by ex-presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu, had argued that Buhari’s electoral success was the result of collective efforts. He cited the former general’s loyal base of 12.5 million voters and the merger of opposition parties that created the APC as the real force behind Buhari’s 2015 victory over then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

But Ajayi dismissed Mustapha’s take as a revision of history.

“Let us even leave the general election that then-General Buhari won to become president in 2015. There is no way he would have won the election to be president without first becoming the presidential candidate of his party, APC,” Ajayi wrote.

He noted that it was Tinubu who rallied APC governors and South West delegates to support Buhari at the decisive party primary held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

“Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011,” Ajayi said. “Every effort and support that made it possible for President Buhari to win should never be diminished.”

Ajayi’s rebuttal comes amid simmering tensions within the APC, as some Tinubu loyalists point fingers at key Buhari-era figures, including former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai and ex-Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, for allegedly working against Tinubu’s political interests.

There is growing unease among Tinubu’s allies over former President Buhari’s silence in the face of what is perceived as internal sabotage, further fueling speculation of a deepening rift within the ruling party as the 2027 elections approach.