Buhari had no delegates from Katsina in 2014; Tinubu helped him win election - Lawal

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has revealed the important role played by President Bola Tinubu in the emergence of former President Muhammadu Buhari as the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014.

Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Friday, July 10, 2025, Lwal went behind the scenes of the deft political calculations and persuasions, involving himself and other key figures, to convince Tinubu to support Buhari at the convention held in Lagos.

Lawal's remarks followed a recent statement by a former SGF, Boss Mustapha, who said nobody single-handedly made Buhari president in 2015.

He said Tinubu's crucial endorsement, which was secured after intense deliberations and strategic calculations, was essential to Buhari's emergence, a move he said changed the trajectory of Nigeria’s political history.

“The truth of the matter is that Bola had a huge input in the emergence of Buhari as president,” Lawal said.

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“He contributed much. Not necessarily financially, but using his social skills, you know, to get people, to convince people.”

The former SGF created a vivid impression of a tense political landscape in the days leading to the convention, with the retired military general's chances hanging in the balance.

“We could see that Buhari didn’t have delegates. Even in Katsina, we were not sure where they were going, because Atiku was there, and the North-West was there. And then there was Kwankwaso, too, and this other guy from Niger. But these were serious people, serious candidates,” he recalled.

Lawal added that Buhari's reputation of being austere made Northern elites uneasy, saying, “People were afraid. Northwest people were afraid of him. We have a lifestyle that we are leeches of government, and Buhari might not allow that type of thing."

He said he and his late colleague, Inuwa Abdulkadir, who was then the National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, resorted to an urgent move to address the stiff resistance. The duo sought an audience with Tinubu, who engaged them in a late-night strategy session.

“We sat down—myself and Abdulkadir—we said, ‘What is going to happen to this convention on Saturday?’ There were problems,” he recounted.

After a careful analysis of the situation, Lawal and Abdulkadir had mooted the idea of backing Rochas Okorocha, a southern Christian of Igbo extraction, who they considered palatable, surprisingly to Northern voters due to his upbringing and philanthropic records in the region.

“He seemed to be one southerner that northerners would love, and were comfortable with. So we calculated that if Okorocha were to get all the Southeast votes and the North Central, Northern Christian votes… and add to it one or two Igbo votes from Delta, from Rivers, and so on, he would carry the ticket. That was our permutation.

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“Realising this could split the northern vote and jeopardise Buhari’s chances, they headed to Tinubu’s residence around 3 a.m. to make the case.

“We laid this on the table,” Lawal said. “See, you people, you have to support, you have no choice but to support this man [Buhari]. Even if he campaigns or not… he will have 11 million votes whether he is on the ticket or not.”

Continuing, he said, “So all we need is a little bit less than 5 million votes to match it up, to scale the closing line. And why did we enter the merger? To get these votes, the balance of these votes comes from the Southwest, six states. And of course, Edo was an appendage of the six states at that time.”

According to Lawal, their compelling argument convinced the former Lagos State Governor to align with them.

“We argued and argued and argued. And [Asiwaju] saw the logic. It’s better to join the winning ticket rather than support the losing ticket. And he saw the calculation. He saw the logic and agreed—the Southwest would deliver at the primaries.”

He revealed how some South-West delegates, who had received “incentives” from a rival candidate, were forced to return the money once Tinubu made it obvious that Buhari was his choice.

“Let me tell you, it got to a stage the people, who had collected some incentive from one of the candidates—I won’t mention [his name] were forced to refund the money after the Southwest had decided on where they were going,” he said.

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The former SGF said Tinubu's backing swung the tide in Buhari's favour, forcing the hands of the North-West delegates, who had to toe the same line as their South-West counterparts.

“That’s how we got to the convention, now sure that Buhari would win. And when the Northwest people realised that the Southwest was going to go with Buhari, it was better not to anger Buhari. Because if we don’t vote for him and he’s going to win, we’re in trouble.”

“This type of skill that he brought to the system, along with other things, contributed to Buhari’s victory,” he said in acknowledgment of Tinubu's political skills in Buhari’s emergence.