Fresh controversy has erupted around the internal politics of the All Progressives Congress following claims by a former aide to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that former President Muhammadu Buhari fully supported Osinbajo’s 2023 presidential ambition.
DDM gathered that the former aide made the assertion while reacting to claims contained in a recently released political biography, which suggested that Osinbajo’s presidential bid lacked the backing of Buhari during the APC primaries.
According to the ex-aide, suggestions that Buhari was indifferent or hostile to Osinbajo’s ambition are “entirely false” and amount to a distortion of historical facts surrounding the 2023 succession battle.
He insisted that Buhari’s support for Osinbajo was “clear, consistent, and unequivocal,” arguing that the former president never worked against his deputy’s aspiration at any point during the buildup to the primaries.
The clarification comes amid renewed public interest in the behind-the-scenes politics that shaped the 2023 general elections, particularly the internal dynamics within the APC after eight years of Buhari’s presidency.
Osinbajo, who served as Buhari’s vice president from 2015 to 2023, contested the APC presidential primaries alongside several heavyweight party figures, including eventual winner Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
At the time, reports of internal divisions, silent endorsements, and power blocs dominated political discourse, with many analysts speculating that Buhari withheld support from his vice president.
However, the ex-aide countered those narratives, saying Buhari maintained a principled stance of allowing all aspirants to compete freely while privately showing goodwill toward Osinbajo.
He argued that Buhari’s public neutrality was often misinterpreted as opposition, stressing that the former president deliberately avoided overt endorsements to prevent abusing the powers of incumbency.
According to the ex-aide, Buhari consistently expressed confidence in Osinbajo’s competence, integrity, and leadership capacity in private conversations and official settings.
He also dismissed claims in the biography suggesting strained relations between Buhari and Osinbajo toward the end of their administration, describing their working relationship as respectful and cordial until the final day in office.
Political analysts note that the renewed debate highlights unresolved tensions within the APC over the legacy of the 2023 primaries and the perception of fairness in the party’s internal processes.
Some observers believe the biography’s claims reflect broader attempts by political actors to reshape narratives around the election and justify strategic decisions made at the time.
Others argue that Buhari’s refusal to publicly anoint a successor created a vacuum that fueled suspicion, speculation, and competing interpretations of his true position.
Supporters of Osinbajo have long maintained that his defeat at the primaries was not due to presidential hostility but rather the complex interplay of party structures, delegate politics, and regional alliances.
They insist that Osinbajo’s candidacy was rooted in his record as vice president, particularly his role in economic management, social investment programmes, and governance reforms.
The ex-aide warned against rewriting history in ways that undermine Osinbajo’s political journey or misrepresent Buhari’s leadership style.
He stressed that disagreements within political parties should not be exaggerated into personal betrayals, especially when they lack factual grounding.
The controversy has also reopened conversations about the limits of presidential influence in party primaries and the fine line between neutrality and tacit endorsement.
Some political commentators say the episode reflects Nigeria’s broader struggle with political memory, where competing camps seek to define legacies long after events have passed.
For Buhari, the claims touch on his reputation as a leader who promised internal democracy and non-interference within his party.
For Osinbajo, the renewed debate revives questions about his political future and how history will judge his 2023 presidential bid.
As the narratives continue to clash, analysts agree that the truth likely lies between public restraint and private preference, a balance Buhari often attempted to strike.
What remains clear is that the politics of succession within the APC continues to generate debate, years after the ballots were cast.
The resurfacing of these claims underscores how unresolved questions from the 2023 elections continue to shape Nigeria’s political conversations and interpretations of power, loyalty, and legacy.