Presidency Aide: Buhari Wouldn’t Have Secured APC Ticket Without Tinubu’s Support

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tomitope Ajayi, has sparked political discussion by claiming that former President Muhammadu Buhari could not have clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2014 without the decisive support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Ajayi made the statement in reaction to remarks by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, at the Abuja launch of Working with Buhari, a book written by former presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu.

During the event, Mustapha had argued that Buhari’s victory was not due to any single individual, pointing out that the former president already had a reliable political base of 12.5 million votes before the 2015 election. He added that an extra three million votes from APC legacy parties secured the win over then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP.

Ajayi, however, rejected Mustapha’s take, describing it as a misrepresentation of the political dynamics that brought Buhari to power. Posting via his official X handle @TheTope_Ajayi, he insisted that Buhari’s path to the presidency began with winning the APC primary—a feat that, according to him, would not have been possible without Tinubu’s influence.

“Let’s even leave the general election that then-General Buhari won to become president in 2015. There is no way he would have won the election to be president without first becoming the presidential candidate of his party, APC,” Ajayi wrote.

He emphasized Tinubu’s strategic role in rallying South West delegates and securing support from influential APC governors during the party’s 2014 convention at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

Ajayi also noted that Buhari’s previous presidential bids in 2003, 2007, and 2011 ended in failure despite his consistent northern support base.

“Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections… Every effort and support that made it possible for President Buhari to win should never be diminished,” he added.