By Ayo Kehinde
The Presidency has countered claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, asserting that President Bola Tinubu played a decisive role in Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in 2015.
Presidential aide, Tope Ajayi, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, stated on Wednesday that Buhari could not have clinched the APC ticket — let alone win the presidency — without Tinubu’s political machinery and mobilisation of key delegates.
Ajayi’s reaction follows Mustapha’s dismissal of Tinubu’s earlier claims that he “made Buhari President.”
Speaking at the launch of “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience” — a book by former presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu, the ex-SGF said Buhari’s long-standing popularity and consistent 12 million bloc votes from the North were more instrumental than any political endorsement.
He argued that Buhari’s political appeal, built over successive presidential bids in 2003, 2007, and 2011, formed the core of his eventual victory.
He said: “I do not intend to stir controversy.
“But when we were conceptualising the merger that birthed the APC, we knew Buhari’s cult-like following was key. In 2011, he polled 12.2 million votes.
“ By 2015, the total votes that gave us the presidency were 15.4 million. So, the contribution from other blocs aside Buhari’s base was about three million votes.”
He stressed that Buhari’s credibility and persistence were the real game changers.
However, Ajayi in a post on X (formerly Twitter), described Mustapha’s narrative as revisionist and misleading.
“Let’s even leave the general election that brought Buhari to power in 2015. There is no way he would have won the APC presidential primary without President Tinubu,” Ajayi wrote.
He said Buhari’s victory at the APC primary in 2014, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, was largely due to Tinubu’s influence in rallying governors and delegates, especially from the South-West.
“Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections — in 2003, 2007, and 2011. It was Tinubu’s mobilisation of APC governors and delegates that gave him the edge at the convention,” Ajayi insisted.
He added that while Buhari’s mass appeal was undeniable, credit must be given to the strategic alliances and political investments made by Tinubu at a critical point in Nigeria’s democratic transition.
Ajayi concluded that Mustapha’s remarks did “a disservice to recent political history” and downplayed the collective efforts that delivered victory to the APC in 2015.
