Headline

I Helped Buhari Emerge President after His Three Losses – Tinubu Boasted

Published

3 years ago

June 3, 2022

Eric

A former Lagos State governor and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, openly stated how he masterminded the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as President in 2015.

The APC national leader made the remarks while addressing the Ogun State APC delegates at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, saying that after losing 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections, Buhari vowed not to contest again, and he took it upon himself to travel to Katsina to persuade him to contest and subsequently supported him to win in 2015.

Tinubu also took a swipe at one of his fellow presidential aspirants in the APC, the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, saying he nominated him as Buhari’s running mate.

Tinubu said without him, Dapo Abiodun would not have been elected governor of Ogun State in 2019.

The national leader was accompanied by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo – Olu; his Kano counterpart, Umar Ganduje and former Borno State Governor, Kasim Shettima.

Buhari, who was Nigeria’s military Head of State between 1983 and 1984, first contested the Presidency on the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party in 2003 and lost to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2007, he lost to another PDP candidate, the late Umaru Yar’Adua. In 2011, he formed a new party, the Congress for Progressives Change, contested on its platform but lost to Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP.

In 2014, four political parties, the CPC, the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, merged to form the APC on whose platform Buhari contested and finally won 2015 the presidential election.However, there has been tension in the APC since Tuesday when the Buhari said he would pick his successor.

Also, there are indications that the party may settle for an aspirant picked by Buhari and may not go for an indirect primary at its convention starting on Monday.

One of Tinubu’s associates, James Falake, had in an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday warned the party against adopting a consensus candidate, adding that aspirants should be allowed to test their strength through an indirect primary.

On Thursday, Tinubu, for the first time revealed how he assisted Buhari, Osinbajo and Abiodun to get their present posts.

Narrating the events that led to the choice of Osinbajo, Tinubu said Buhari wanted him to be his running mate, but a group in the party led by a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, rose against him.

The former Lagos State governor stated after three defeats, the ex-head of state vowed not to contest the presidency again.

He said, “If not me that led the war front, Buhari would not have emerged. He contested first, second and third times, but lost. He even said on television that he would not contest again.

“But I went to his home in Katsina, I told him you would contest and win, but ‘you would not joke with Yoruba matters.

“Since he has emerged, I have not been appointed minister. I didn’t get a contract.

“This time, it’s the Yoruba’s turn and in Yorubaland, it’s my tenure.”

Referring to Abiodun in his remarks, Tinubu said, “This one sitting behind me here, could not have become governor without me? We were at the stadium, they tore all his posters. Even the party flag, they didn’t want to hand over it to him, I was the one who brought it.

“If he wants to meet God at the right place, he must know that he would not have become governor without God and me.”

Tinubu said when the APC was formed he wanted to contest the presidency.

He added, “Buhari wanted me to be his Vice President. He said because the first time he contested, he picked (Chuba) Okadigbo; flamboyant, catholic, but Nigerians didn’t vote for him (Buhari). The second time, he picked another Igbo, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, Nigerians didn’t vote for him, that if he brought the Pope to run as his deputy, Nigerians would not vote for him, that ‘you, Bola Tinubu, you have six governors, you have never lost an election before, come and be my running mate.

“He knew all the calculations then favoured us. That was why he wanted me as his running mate, but I told him to let us build the party first. And when we finished building the party, we brought in people from the PDP. Saraki saw that those from the PDP would not get anything if Buhari, a Muslim becomes the President and me, also a Muslim becomes his deputy. He won’t become the Senate President and the Senate President could not also be a Muslim. That was how they started the campaign of calumny against me.

“And I told them that I had a candidate that is a Christian that I could nominate so that the party would not break. That was how I nominated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. I surrendered my right to him (Osinbajo).

“I was asked to submit three names, Yemi Cardozo, Wale Edun and Yemi Osinbajo, but I told them if I submitted three names, they would play a game. They may make it four and pick the fourth one. I gave them one name and that was Osinbajo.”

Speaking on why he is the best choice among other aspirants in the South-West, he said, “It is my time, I’m educated, I’m experienced. I have been serving you people for a long time,
bring me the presidency, it is my turn.

“When Atiku was being flogged out of the PDP by Obasanjo, he ran to me for help. I let him have the ticket. Nuhu Ribadu came to me and I backed him.

“If not for me that stood behind Buhari, he wouldn’t have become the president. He tried the first time, he failed, the second time, he failed, the third, he failed. He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again but I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he would run again and I will stand by him and he will win, but he must not joke with the Yoruba and he agreed.

“Since he became the President, I have never got ministerial slots; I didn’t collect any contract, I have never begged for anything from him, it is the turn of Yoruba, it is my turn.”

In his remarks, Abiodun who had earlier declared his support for Osinbajo’s candidature refused to endorse Tinubu.

He told Tinubu that delegates from the state would do “the right thing” at the convention.

Abiodun described Tinubu as a political warrior, serial winner and strategist.

When contacted on the telephone, Saraki’s Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated, “We are not making any comment.”

Also attempts to speak with a Spokesman of the President, Garba Shehu, proved abortive as he neither responded to repeated calls nor a text message on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, five governors of the APC on Thursday met Vice-President Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

The Punch

Headline

Tinubu Seeks Transfer of Jailed Ekweremadu Back to Nigeria

Published

2 days ago

November 11, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.

The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.

Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.

The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.

The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.

In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.

This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.

On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.

Headline

Tinubu Congratulates Soludo on Reelection As Anambra Governor

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Prof Chukwuma Soludo on his re-election as Governor of Anambra State.

Soludo was returned for a second term in office after recording a landslide victory, winning all 21 local government areas in the election, according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The massive victory makes the professor the third governor in Anambra’s political history to win a second term.

In a statement he personally signed, President Tinubu described Soludo’s re-election as a testament to his visionary leadership and the significant progress recorded under his administration.

“Governor Soludo, the Solution, has demonstrated that knowledge is indeed power and that academic principles can be applied in serving the people, undergirding accountability, transparency, and prudent management of people and resources.

“I visited Anambra State in May this year, where I inaugurated some projects executed by the Soludo administration. I highlighted the good thinking behind the landmark projects embarked upon by Mr Solution. That experience is indeed remarkable and will remain indelible in my mind.

“I commend Governor Soludo for bringing discipline, grace, brilliance, and a fresh perspective to governance in Anambra. Under him, Anambra is living up to its motto as the Light of the Nation.

“I urge Governor Soludo to be magnanimous in victory and to seek the cooperation of his opponents in the just-concluded election.

“I assure Governor Soludo of my unwavering support, and I look forward to continued collaboration between Anambra and the Federal government.

“The victory of the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance in the election again demonstrates the vitality of our political system and the fact that victory for any progressive and hardworking leader can hardly be encumbered or denied,” the President said.

President Tinubu also commended the new INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, and his team for conducting what he described as a credible election, based on reports received so far.

He charged the commission to maintain high standards and continue to improve its performance “so we can strengthen and deepen our electoral system.”

The State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, who announced the result, declared Soludo the winner after the collation of results from the local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” he said at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, the state capital.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) polled 10,576 and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Headline

Soludo in Landslide Victory, Relected As Anambra Governor

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after he was declared the winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

According to the results announced by INEC in the early hours of Sunday, Soludo won by a landslide in the 21 local government areas of the South-East state.

The State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo as the winner of the exercise after the collation of results from the local government areas of the state where the election was held.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba, a professor, told a gathering at the state headquarters of INEC in Awka, the state capital, where the election results were collated.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to trounce his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Shortly after the results were announced, there was jubilation at the residence of the governor in Isoufia community, Aguata LGA.