Presidency Insists Tinubu Was Key to Buhari’s 2015 Victory Amid Fresh Party Tensions
The Presidency has firmly pushed back against recent claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not play a decisive role in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in 2015.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Presidency described such remarks as a distortion of history and a deliberate effort to downplay Tinubu’s political influence.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a strongly worded response, asserting that Buhari would not have secured the APC ticket in 2014 without Tinubu’s strategic support.
He described Tinubu as the “kingmaker” who rallied crucial support from South-West delegates and governors, which ultimately secured Buhari’s victory in the APC primaries.
“There is no way he (Buhari) would have won the APC primary election without President Tinubu, who mobilised the APC governors and the South-West delegates to move Buhari’s way,” Ajayi stated. “It is a disservice to history and our democracy to suggest otherwise.”
Ajayi further noted that Buhari had contested the presidency three times—2003, 2007, and 2011—without success, despite having a loyal voter base in the North. It was not until the 2015 election, when he entered a political alliance with Tinubu and the South-West power bloc, that he was able to break through and secure a historic win against the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan.
The rebuttal comes after Boss Mustapha, speaking at a public event, downplayed Tinubu’s role, suggesting Buhari’s success came from his own political capital, grassroots support, and the broad coalition that formed the APC. Mustapha claimed that Buhari’s popularity and persistence were the real catalysts for the opposition’s eventual victory in 2015.
Ajayi dismissed this as political revisionism, arguing that it undermines the complexity of coalition-building that made the APC successful. He pointed to the 2014 APC primary at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, where Tinubu reportedly threw his weight behind Buhari and instructed key blocs within the party to do the same.
Observers say the disagreement underscores underlying tensions within the APC as the party navigates internal power struggles and attempts to define the legacy of its key figures.
With President Tinubu now at the helm, some believe the party is undergoing a shift in narrative control, with certain actors seeking to reframe historical events to serve new political realities.
The exchange also touches on broader debates about the nature of political influence in Nigeria and the central role played by regional alliances in presidential contests. Tinubu’s long-standing reputation as a political strategist and kingmaker continues to be both celebrated and contested within party ranks.
While the Presidency’s statement appears aimed at setting the record straight, it also sends a clear message to those within the APC who may be attempting to minimize Tinubu’s contribution to the party’s rise.
The political history of the 2015 election remains deeply significant, not just for those who lived it, but for what it signals about future contests, alliances, and control within Nigeria’s ruling party.
