Tinubu won 2023 election without Buhari's full backing - APC spokesperson

Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, said President Bola Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election even without full support from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Hassan made this statement on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He discussed Mr Tinubu’s chances of winning re-election in 2027.

When asked if Mr Tinubu would gain from the political structure and support linked to Mr Buhari before the next election, Mr Hassan questioned if the former president really used his political influence to back the APC candidate in 2023.

“Did he enjoy that in 2023? Did we enjoy Buhari’s support in 2023? Let the truth be told, we did not,” he said.

When pressed if he meant Mr Tinubu won the election by himself, Mr Hassan responded: “On his own. Buhari didn’t fully come out to support Tinubu.”

He accused Mr Buhari of not campaigning actively for the APC candidate. Mr Hassan said Mr Tinubu won despite the former president’s lack of support.

“Buhari didn’t do well in 2023. He didn’t actually come out to stand for us and stand for Asiwaju in 2023. Asiwaju won that election against all odds,” he stated.

Mr Hassan’s comments remind many of the time leading up to the APC’s presidential primary election. At that time, Mr Tinubu was thought to have won without Mr Buhari’s backing.

Mr Buhari seemed unsure about whom to support in the crowded APC race. He sent mixed signals, sometimes seen as not fully backing Mr Tinubu’s candidacy. At other times, it seemed he had a secret choice he would reveal later.

Some primary election participants, like Rotimi Amaechi, the former transport minister, said Mr Buhari assured them they were his preferred candidates. He promised to announce them when the time was right.

Mr Tinubu, frustrated with Mr Buhari’s lack of support, famously expressed his feelings at a political event in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He reminded everyone how he helped Mr Buhari become president but did not get support in return.

Mr Buhari never announced a candidate before Mr Tinubu won the primary election.

However, Mr Buhari accepted Mr Tinubu as the APC candidate once he emerged as the winner.

In November 2022, the former president endorsed the Tinubu-Shettima ticket at an APC rally in Jos, Plateau State. He urged party members to support the candidates.

At another campaign rally in Nasarawa State in February 2023, Mr Buhari promised to keep campaigning for Mr Tinubu, calling him a committed Nigerian.

On election day, February 25, 2023, Mr Buhari revealed he voted for the APC candidate after casting his ballot in Daura, Katsina State.

However, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, gave a different view of Mr Buhari’s stance during the APC presidential primary. In a July interview with The Punch newspaper, Mr Lawal said Mr Buhari was initially hesitant to support Mr Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate. He eventually agreed to remain neutral and let delegates decide the primary’s outcome.

Mr Tinubu had a key role in Mr Buhari’s rise to the presidency in 2015. He campaigned for him and helped gather support nationwide.

The two politicians faced tensions over political succession and the APC presidential ticket during the last months of the Buhari administration.