Buhari Considered It Distasteful for Osinbajo to Contest Against Tinubu — Babachir Lawal

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has said the late former President Muhammadu Buhari considered it “highly immoral and distasteful” for his former deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, to contest against President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.

Lawal made the disclosure during an interview with Symfoni TV published on YouTube on Thursday, explaining that Buhari’s longstanding relationship with Tinubu would have made it difficult for the former president to support Osinbajo’s ambition.

According to Lawal, Buhari placed a high value on loyalty and would have considered Osinbajo’s decision to challenge Tinubu inappropriate because of Tinubu’s role in Buhari’s political journey.

“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.

He added that Buhari would have found the contest distasteful even if he believed Osinbajo could have been a better president.

“Buhari would find it highly immoral for Osinbajo to contest the same position with Bola Tinubu,” he said.

Lawal also alleged that Buhari had reservations about some appointments made by Osinbajo while serving as vice-president, particularly appointments involving people associated with the church where the former vice-president had served as a pastor.

He recalled an incident involving a memo containing about 28 names proposed for appointments in Osinbajo’s office. Lawal said the memo had reportedly remained pending for months before he obtained a copy and presented it directly to Buhari.

According to Lawal, Buhari questioned the composition of the list, remarking that the proposed appointees were Yoruba. Lawal said he appealed to Buhari to approve the appointments, explaining that Osinbajo was new to the role. He said the former president eventually approved the memo.

Lawal further alleged that some church leaders in northern Nigeria had complained to Buhari that they were being overlooked for appointments despite supporting his administration.

He said he believed these incidents contributed to Buhari’s reservations about Osinbajo’s presidential ambition, although he acknowledged that the former president had not explicitly told him that the appointments would determine his position.

Osinbajo served as vice-president under Buhari from 2015 to 2023 and contested the All Progressives Congress presidential primary in 2022. Tinubu won the party’s ticket and subsequently won the 2023 presidential election.

Lawal’s account represents his interpretation of Buhari’s views and private interactions during the administration.