A former spokesperson to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has said the late President Muhammadu Buhari offered to back Osinbajo’s 2022 presidential bid on at least four occasions.

The claim directly counters earlier comments by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.

Lawal had argued that Buhari would have seen it as disloyal and distasteful for Osinbajo to challenge Bola Tinubu, who played a key role in his emergence as vice-president in 2015. Akande rejected this account, saying Buhari’s words and actions showed the opposite.

According to Akande, Buhari personally told Osinbajo, “If I don’t support you, who will I support?” on multiple occasions. He also recalled that the former president publicly praised Osinbajo during a Federal Executive Council meeting in 2022 for the dignified and issue-based way he campaigned for the APC ticket.

Akande said the entire council witnessed Buhari’s commendation. He argued that such public and private encouragement showed the late president did not regard Osinbajo’s ambition as inappropriate.

The former spokesperson further dismissed claims that Osinbajo’s appointments were driven by ethnic or religious bias, describing them as false. He maintained that Osinbajo served Buhari loyally for eight years with an inclusive team that reflected Nigeria’s diversity.