Daud Olatunji
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari considered it immoral and distasteful for his former deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, to contest the 2023 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu.
Lawal said Buhari’s position was informed by his longstanding relationship with Tinubu, whom he described as instrumental to the former president’s emergence as Nigeria’s leader.
According to the former SGF, Buhari would have found it difficult to support Osinbajo against Tinubu, regardless of his personal assessment of the former vice-president’s capacity to govern the country.
Lawal made the claims in an interview with Symfoni TV, published on YouTube on Thursday.
“I’m very close to Buhari; I know him very well. He’s somebody that believes in loyalty. He’s somebody that does issues from the point of view of high morality,” Lawal said while describing the late president’s disposition to political relationships.
He added, “Buhari would find it highly immoral for Osinbajo to contest the same position with Bola Tinubu.”
According to Lawal, Buhari believed Tinubu had played a significant role in his political journey and had subsequently indicated an interest in succeeding him.
“In his type of character, he will find it distasteful because he knew the relationship before; he is the man who recommended him for president, and Bola wants it,” the former SGF said.
Lawal maintained that Buhari would have considered Osinbajo’s decision inappropriate even if he believed the former vice-president could perform better as president.
“Even if he believes that Osinbajo will be a better president or whatever,” Lawal said, explaining what he believed would have been Buhari’s position.
Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, served as vice-president under Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
He contested the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket in 2022 but lost to Tinubu, who went on to win the 2023 presidential election.
Beyond the former vice-president’s presidential ambition, Lawal alleged that Buhari had concerns about Osinbajo’s appointments, particularly the alleged preference for individuals affiliated with his church.
The former SGF claimed that Buhari was aware that several people Osinbajo sought to appoint to his office were Yoruba and members of the same church.
Lawal illustrated his allegation with an account of a memo containing about 28 names submitted for approval as Osinbajo’s take-off staff.
He said the memo allegedly remained unapproved for approximately three months because it had not been forwarded to Buhari by the then Chief of Staff to the President, the late Abba Kyari.
According to Lawal, he eventually obtained a photocopy of the document and personally presented it to Buhari, asking why the appointments had not been approved.
“I said, ‘Oga, see the date my Oga sent a memo. You have not approved. What is the problem?’” he recalled.
Lawal said Buhari examined the list and used a green biro to tick 26 of the 28 names, but expressed concern about their ethnic and religious affiliations.
“Out of 28, I think he ticked 26 with the green biro,” Lawal said, adding that Buhari remarked, “BD, these are all Yorubas.”
The former SGF said he explained that Osinbajo was new to the office and promised to discuss the president’s concerns with the vice-president.
“I said, ‘Oga, this is his first memo. I will talk to him. You know, he’s just from Lagos,’” Lawal recalled.
He said Buhari subsequently approved the memo, after which he took it to Kyari and informed him that the president had authorised the appointments.
Lawal described the incident as one of several occasions when he believed Buhari had expressed reservations about Osinbajo’s choices of appointees.
Lawal further alleged that Buhari was uncomfortable with what he described as Osinbajo’s preference for appointing people associated with his church.
He claimed that the head of the church where Osinbajo had served as a pastor received an appointment after the former vice-president assumed office.
According to Lawal, the person’s successor and another individual who subsequently occupied the position also benefited from appointments.
He questioned the suitability of some of the appointees, alleging that certain individuals lacked sufficient experience for the positions they were given.
As an example, he cited an appointment at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, claiming that the appointee had previously served as a level 12 officer at the National Youth Service Corps.
The former SGF also alleged that some Christian leaders in northern Nigeria complained to Buhari that they had supported his election but were being overlooked in appointments.
“At one time, some of the traditional church leaders in the north actually went to Buhari and complained about the appointments. That they too, they are Christians, they too, they voted for him, and so on and so forth,” Lawal said.
He acknowledged, however, that Buhari did not expressly tell him that the alleged appointments would affect his willingness to support Osinbajo politically.
Rather, Lawal said he drew that conclusion from what he described as the former president’s reactions and body language.
“So, I suspect that this excessive preference for his church members would affect Buhari,” he said.
Lawal added that he believed Buhari feared Osinbajo might adopt a similar approach to appointments if he eventually became president.
“From his actions and body language, I could see that he was scared that if Osinbajo became president, what Bola is doing, Osinbajo will do. But again, he didn’t think it was decent for Osinbajo to contest with Bola Tinubu,” he said.
Osinbajo took key decisions as acting president
Osinbajo occasionally served as acting president when Buhari travelled abroad for medical treatment and other engagements.
One of the major decisions taken during his time in charge was the dismissal of the then Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, in August 2018.
The decision followed an incident in which DSS operatives laid siege to the National Assembly complex in Abuja, restricting access to the legislative chambers.
Daura hails from Katsina State, the home state of Buhari.
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