Why Buhari Withheld Endorsement: Biography Reveals Osinbajo Was a Tinubu Introduction

|By Chinwendu Nwani

Fresh details have surfaced on why late former President Muhammadu Buhari declined to endorse his former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, as his successor ahead of the 2022 presidential race.

According to Buhari’s biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammad Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, the former president withheld support because he had no personal relationship with Osinbajo.

The book, launched at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, quoted Buhari as saying he met Osinbajo solely through President Bola Tinubu and was taken aback by Osinbajo’s decision to contest against Tinubu in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary.

“I don’t know Osinbajo from anywhere; I met him only through Tinubu,” Buhari was quoted as saying in the publication.

Osinbajo is widely regarded as one of Tinubu’s political protégés. He served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State during Tinubu’s tenure as governor.

During the buildup to the 2015 presidential election, Tinubu reportedly proposed Osinbajo to Buhari as his running mate, a move that culminated in Osinbajo’s emergence as Vice President following the APC’s victory.

The revelations offer new insight into the internal dynamics that shaped succession politics within the ruling party ahead of the 2023 general election.a