₦airaland Forum

Educationalserv:
Rocha of Apga , Saraki of Npdp and five governors and ANPP all supported buhari the additional 3.8m vote south west only added 2.4
Rochas Apga brought in 700k
Saraki and Co brought in 1m
But Tinibu is claiming all

In the 2020 report, Babachir Lawal, who served under Buhari before the termination of his appointment in 2017, explained how the then Tinubu raised funds for the then All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Buhari, to win the 2015 presidential election.

The presidency and several senior figures within the All Progressives Congress (APC) have faulted claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, over the events that led to Muhammadu Buhari’s historic victory in the 2015 presidential election.

Mustapha, speaking at a book launch in Abuja on Wednesday, had argued that it was Buhari’s personal integrity and disciplined public image—not the political influence of then APC leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu—that secured his electoral success.

But the assertion has drawn sharp rebuttals.

Reacting in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said President Tinubu played an indispensable role in Buhari’s emergence as APC flag bearer and eventual president. He stated that without Tinubu’s support, Buhari would not have defeated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso during the APC presidential primary held in Lagos in 2014.


Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to President Tinubu and information and strategy, disclosed this, while quoting a report where Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (AGF) under Buhari's administration.

In the 2020 report, Lawal, who served under Buhari before the termination of his appointment in 2017, explained how the then Tinubu raised funds for the then All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Buhari, to win the 2015 presidential election.


Onanuga explained that what Lawal mentioned in the report was just one out of many that President Tinubu of today did for his political ally ahead of the 2015 election, where the APC defeated the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The presidency's comment was a response to Lawal's successor in the office of the SGF, Boss Mustapha, who recently denied the contribution of Tinubu to the success of Buhari in the 2015 election, claiming that the former president already had 12 million votes before his alliance with Tinubu before the formation of the APC in 2014.

Onanuga's statement reads in part: “Before we plunge into an unwarranted debate about President Tinubu’s role in the enthronement of the Buhari presidency in 2015,” Onanuga wrote,

“here is a report quoting Babachir Lawal attesting to Tinubu’s pivotal role. The former SGF spoke about just one aspect of Tinubu’s role. Tinubu also ensured that Buhari won the APC ticket, defeating the challenges from Atiku and Kwankwaso.”

He continued: “Then, he gave Buhari what had been missing in his constant 12 million votes: geographical spread and additional votes from the South West. President Jonathan knew that the South West would decide the winner of the 2015 election, as he spent weeks in the zone trying to garner support. He failed. Buhari won.”


Onanuga citing comments by former SGF Babachir Lawal, who had acknowledged Tinubu’s role but, according to Onanuga, had only scratched the surface.


Also weighing in, Senator Abu Ibrahim, a close associate of both Tinubu and Buhari, said Mustapha lacked understanding of the political arrangements that led to Buhari’s win.

“I think it was wrong of him (Mustapha) to make that statement, because he was not in the midst of the political arrangement at that time. He didn’t know what happened. He just became Secretary to the Government later, but there was a long movement before Buhari and Tinubu came together,” Senator Ibrahim said in an interview with Daily Trust.

He recalled that while Buhari had secured millions of votes in previous elections, he consistently failed to meet the constitutional requirement of 25 percent in two-thirds of the states.

“I was always advising him to get somebody from the South who was strong and could give him that 25 percent. I told him to sit down with Asiwaju to form either a union or a new party. He agreed—and that’s how it started. It was only when Tinubu came on board that we were able to get the two-thirds requirement in the western states,” Ibrahim explained.

“Despite Buhari’s 12 million votes, it was the merger and Tinubu’s involvement that helped us meet the constitutional requirements. For Mustapha to say otherwise is wrong,” he added.

Another associate of former President Buhari, Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, also echoed Senator Ibrahim’s position during an appearance on Channels Television, insisting that President Tinubu played a pivotal role in Buhari’s eventual emergence as president in 2015.

“Let’s not talk about the 12 million votes, because the 12 million votes did not translate into the presidency,” he said, arguing that without Tinubu’s backing, Buhari might have lost the APC presidential primary to either Atiku or Kwankwaso.

“Anybody trying to deconstruct history by claiming Tinubu did not contribute is simply wrong. So, let’s not take such statements too seriously,” he added.


On his part, another APC chieftain and associate of Buhari, Osita Okechukwu, said the former SGF should be excused due to his limited knowledge of the party’s early formation.

“There is no need for controversy because my friend Boss Mustapha should be excused—he was not with us in 2003 when Buhari began the presidential race. He was in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and did not know the waters that passed under the realpolitik bridge. This is why he relied only on mathematical calculations in 2015, not on realpolitik,” he said.

Okechukwu recalled that in the 2003 presidential election, their legal team argued at the tribunal that Buhari had won the majority of votes—beyond the 12.7 million INEC attributed to him—an argument captured in Justice Sylvester Nsofor’s minority judgement.

“In 2011, our initial merger talks with Tinubu’s ACN failed and Buhari lost. But when we rekindled the talks and successfully merged in 2013, it led to the golden victory votes that propelled Buhari to power,” he said.

Okechukwu stressed that Tinubu’s unflinching support was decisive, noting that Tinubu had assured Buhari of his full backing and political structure despite his relationships with other northern political figures like Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

“As a delegate of the defunct CPC, I witnessed how we were instructed to negotiate only with the ACN. At Chief Tom Ikimi’s house in Maitama, we refused to engage with ANPP and others. It took extensive negotiations before the APC was formed in July 2013.

Truly, without Asiwaju’s premium supplementary votes, there would have been no two-thirds spread and no victory,” he stated.

He added that in 2011, when a proposed merger with Tinubu’s ACN failed, Buhari again lost. But when the alliance was rekindled in 2013, it led to “the premium golden victory votes that propelled our principal to Aso Rock.”

Penguin2:
Lol!

Tinubu sent Shettima out of the country to prevent him from saying another thing.

Shettima called his bluff by telling the world that the president does not have the power to remove even an elected councilor, obviously referring to what Tinubu did in Rivers.

Now the media is milking that statement and I’m sure Tinubu corns don’t know how to react.

Shettima is part of the coalition 🤓

Maxymilliano:
.

Atiku once clamored for selling the refineries to private sector, but he was abused and called unprintable names.

Now, look at how much resources that have been wasted with no result, yet the government keeps going around on circles, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results

Racoon:
Why didn't Soludo follow up his assertion with the same police report or stats before profiling the Igbos in Anambra state as the majority criminals?

Many other ethnic nationals are in Anambra state commiting crimes but according to him, only fellow Igbos are the majority criminals being arrested. Can he provide a statistics that confirmed this revelation?

Criminality knows no divide but efulefus like Soludo thinks he is smart in demonizing his own people because of politics.

stanluiz:
We All know that soludo mouth is like running pipe borne water. He talks like wike so that people can talk about him in the Media.

Talking for just talking sake.

Penguin2:
If una no believe Channels, una go believe The Cables.

https://factcheck.thecable.ng/fact-check-wike-erred-peter-obi-conducted-lg-election-as-anambra-governor/

CableCheck found that on January 11, 2014, just two months before the end of Peter Obi’s tenure, local government elections were conducted across all 21 LGAs in Anambra.

He said, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Commander -in - Chief of misinformation, disinformation and falsehood.

Celestialsword:
Ndigbo are their own enemies.

If at the stage of the struggle, ndigbo can still be used against itself,then they don't deserved to be taken seriously

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, has said that the coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) cannot unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

According to Ohanaeze, the current cadre of presidential aspirants within the ranks of the coalition is tainted with individuals whose characters are questionable and who are inextricably linked to the insatiable pursuit of state capture.

A press release on Monday, signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Deputy President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, noted that the assembly of candidates is unfortunately marred by their alleged records of corruption, extreme proclivity for political power, and their covert sponsorship of violence in Nigeria.

“In no uncertain terms, we assert that the ADC is a certified congregation of strange bedfellows, united by a singular, nefarious agenda of state capture, against the collective interests of Nigerians, and it manifestly lacks the requisite capacity to unseat and dislodge an incumbent President as fortified as Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the organisation said.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemns the assemblage of corrupt politicians within the ADC, and we echo the sentiments of many Nigerians, particularly Ndigbo, who are profoundly disenchanted by this coalition.


“The unpardonable sins of Atiku Abubakar against the Southeast during the 2022 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries will be revisited, and he shall be met with the consequences of his own decisions.


[b]Nasir El-Rufai must account for his role in the systematic carnage and periodic massacres of Igbo Christians in Southern Kaduna during his tenure as the state governor from 2015 to 2023.


“The troubling question remains: why did the Southern Kaduna crisis abate with El-Rufai’s departure from office? Furthermore, former Transport Minister Chibuike Amaechi must explain to the Igbo people why, as Transport Minister while in office, he gave approval for standard gauge rail lines for other regions, while relegating the Eastern region to a single gauge line—a project that he abandoned unfinished.


“At the appropriate time, all ADC presidential aspirants will be reminded of their transgressions against the Southeast. In light of the sentiments expressed, Ohanaeze reaffirmed its earlier position—the Igbo support for President Tinubu remains sacrosanct.

“We categorically refute any endorsement of the opposition coalition ADC in the forthcoming 2027 elections. During the recent Igbo Day celebrations in Asaba, Delta State, Igbo leaders from diverse backgrounds convened and collectively resolved to withdraw support from opposition parties in favour of embracing the current administration under the esteemed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This collective decision is steadfast and will not be altered.

“It’s imperative that this stark reality be conveyed to the leaders of the ADC coalition. The prevailing truths on the ground are sobering and underpinned by irrefutable evidence. Many close ministers and associates of President Tinubu have garnered the trust and confidence of Nigerians through exemplary performances across essential sectors, such as security, road infrastructure development, and groundbreaking policies in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The challenges for ADC’s northern leaders to secure a victory in the North are insurmountable."


He added, “Dr. Bello Matawelle, Minister of State for Defence, and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, are well-positioned to eclipse former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the Northeast, and Nasir El-Rufai in the Northwest, thus facilitating a resounding victory for President Tinubu in 2027.

“In the Southeast, the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, alongside other Igbo leaders and Southeast governors, will dutifully deliver the Southeast zone to ensure President Tinubu’s success. In the Niger Delta, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, fortified by their respective governors, have already garnered the support of the Niger Delta populace for the impending victory of President Tinubu.

“Furthermore, Ohanaeze feels compelled to communicate a pressing matter to President Tinubu regarding the urgent need for federal agencies to disclose the withheld forensic investigation reports concerning the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“Allegations have emerged implicating Mrs. Judith Amaechi, wife of Chibuike Amaechi, of engaging in alleged dubious dealings within the NDDC, as being accused by the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. The accusation that Mrs. Amaechi collected exorbitant monthly payments totaling N48 billion for non-existent projects aimed at training women’s groups in the Niger Delta is a most serious claim that warrants immediate scrutiny and cannot be overlooked by President Tinubu’s administration.”

In what appears to be a strong signal yet of shifting political alignments in Rivers State, one of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s most prominent support groups — the Simplicity Movement has officially dissolved and rebranded itself as the Rivers Grassroots Movement (RGM).

The announcement was made during a major stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt, in what the group says is full compliance with the directive of the governor for all political structures operating in his name to disband and realign with the evolving peace process.

Launched exactly a year ago at the Kalabari National College (KNC) field in Buguma, Asari-Toru Local Government Area, the Simplicity Movement had members in 23 LGAs.

Speaking at the meeting on Saturday, the National leader of the group, Sobomabo Jackrich, said the group, which has been a strong supporter of Fubara, is in support of the peace move.

“Our action was not motivated by inducement, expectation, or political reward,” Jackrich, the convener of the group, said.

“It was a voluntary, sincere, and deliberate demonstration of solidarity and belief in a leader who, from day one, placed Rivers people at the centre of governance.”


He noted that while the movement is ending, the values and vision continue under a new name and mandate.

“At this juncture, we must step aside — not in weakness, but in strength; not in retreat, but in responsibility,” Jackrich stated.

According to him, the Rivers Grassroots Movement will operate as a non-partisan civic platform focused on civic engagement, peace-building, grassroots empowerment, and policy advocacy.

The group commended FCT Minister and former Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, for embracing reconciliation and reaffirmed its loyalty to Governor Fubara.

“We are not in opposition. We are not a faction. We are Rivers people. We are patriots. We are builders of peace,” Jackrich added.

He noted that they, however, remain under the guidance of Sim Fubara.

Other leaders of the group who spoke re-echoed a call on all supporters across the 23 LGAs to remain peaceful, disciplined, and united in the pursuit of a stable and progressive Rivers State.

The ongoing peace efforts have been commended by many quarters, including the Rivers Elders Forum, which had also urged the President to reinstate Governor Fubara with the return of peace.

Ikaeniyan0:
When is Alex Otti going to join Peter 0bi in the ADC?