‘I Didn’t Know Him’: Buhari Explains Why He Withheld Support for Osinbajo’s 2023 Presidential Bid

Fresh insight has emerged into why former President Muhammadu Buhari declined to back Yemi Osinbajo, his vice president of eight years, in the race to succeed him as Nigeria’s leader.

According to a newly released biography, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, Buhari said his decision stemmed from a lack of personal relationship with Osinbajo, despite their long years in government together.

The book, authored by Dr Charles Omole and unveiled at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, quotes Buhari as saying he only came to know Osinbajo through President Bola Tinubu, who was then a key political ally.

“I don’t know Osinbajo from anywhere. I met him only through Tinubu,” Buhari was quoted as saying.

The former president reportedly expressed surprise that Osinbajo chose to contest the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary against Tinubu, his long-time political mentor.

Osinbajo, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, served under Tinubu during his tenure as governor and is widely regarded as one of the political figures nurtured within Tinubu’s political structure.

In the build-up to the 2015 general election, Tinubu is believed to have played a decisive role in recommending Osinbajo to Buhari as his running mate, a move that eventually led to Osinbajo’s emergence as vice president.

The revelation sheds new light on the internal dynamics that shaped the APC’s succession battle ahead of the 2023 presidential election and offers a rare glimpse into Buhari’s personal reasoning during a critical political moment.