“Osinbajo Discussed His Presidential Ambition with Buhari on Four Occasions” — Ojudu Rebuts Omole’s Claims

Babafemi Ojudu, a former presidential adviser, has pushed back against claims by Charles Omole that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo did not have the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari for his presidential ambition.

Omole, author of *From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari*, had said Buhari was unhappy with Osinbajo’s decision to contest for the presidency, largely because President Bola Tinubu was also in the race. According to the book, Buhari found it “strange” that Osinbajo would run against Tinubu, whom he reportedly regarded as the vice-president’s political benefactor.

Omole further quoted sources as saying Buhari remarked, “I don’t know Osinbajo from anywhere; I met him only through Tinubu,” and added that the president was displeased that Osinbajo did not consult him or seek his advice before pursuing his ambition.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Ojudu rejected the account, describing it as inaccurate and misleading. Ojudu, who served as special adviser to the president on political matters in the office of the vice-president between 2016 and 2022, said Osinbajo discussed his presidential ambition directly and personally with Buhari on no fewer than four occasions.

“The matter of whether Vice President Osinbajo should run for President was discussed directly and personally between him and President Muhammadu Buhari on no fewer than four separate occasions,” Ojudu said. “On each of these occasions, President Buhari expressed clear, unequivocal support for the Vice President’s ambition.”

He stressed that Buhari never discouraged Osinbajo from contesting or hinted that he should defer to another aspirant. “At no time — explicitly or implicitly — did President Buhari suggest that Professor Osinbajo should refrain from contesting,” Ojudu said. “At no time did he indicate a preference that the Vice President should step aside for any other aspirant, including the eventual nominee of the party.”

Ojudu recalled that during their first discussion, Buhari advised Osinbajo to reflect carefully on the decision and assured him of support whichever path he chose. He added that by the third conversation, Buhari went further, stating plainly that Osinbajo was “by far the best person for the job.”

According to Ojudu, Osinbajo could not have realistically contemplated a presidential run without Buhari’s active backing, insisting that the suggestion to the contrary distorts the record.

He also criticised the approach taken by the book’s author, arguing that anyone writing about Buhari’s presidency has a responsibility to consult key actors involved in the events being documented. “To embark on such a project without seeking their account is not serious scholarship or history. It is advocacy masquerading as biography,” Ojudu said.

“History is not written to settle scores. It is written to illuminate truth,” he added, warning that accounts shaped by hearsay and one-sided recollections may gain temporary attention but rarely withstand the judgment of time.