Akande Says Buhari Offered to Back Osinbajo’s Presidential Bid, Rejects Lawal’s Account

Laolu Akande, former spokesman for Nigerian former vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, said on October 17 that former president Muhammadu Buhari offered to support Osinbajo’s presidential ambition on at least four occasions. He rejected former government secretary Babachir Lawal’s claim that Buhari would have opposed Osinbajo’s candidacy out of loyalty to Bola Tinubu. Akande said Buhari also praised Osinbajo’s dignified, issue-focused campaign at a 2022 Federal Executive Council meeting. Osinbajo lost the ruling All Progressives Congress presidential nomination to Tinubu in 2022; Tinubu went on to win the 2023 presidential election.