The Presidency has asserted that President Bola Tinubu was instrumental in the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s President in 2015, attributing former President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat to his failure to secure crucial backing from the South-West region.
News360 Info reports that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the claim on Thursday via his official (formerly Twitter) account, where he outlined Tinubu’s role in delivering victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
According to Onanuga, any debate about President Tinubu’s political weight must begin with an acknowledgement of his strategic contribution to Buhari’s historic win.
He said, “Tinubu ensured that Buhari clinched the APC presidential ticket by overcoming strong challengers like Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso. But more critically, he gave Buhari what he had always lacked, geographical spread and additional votes from the South-West.”
Onanuga emphasised that Buhari had long enjoyed support in the North, consistently polling around 12 million votes in previous elections. However, it was Tinubu’s ability to rally the South-West that tipped the scales in 2015.
He further stated, “Former President Jonathan was aware that the South-West would be the decider in 2015. He spent weeks campaigning there to gain support but failed. Buhari, with Tinubu’s backing, won convincingly.”
