Politics

How El-Rufai’s coup, Aisha Buhari the ‘Star Girl’ performance, Abeokuta outburst secured Tinubu’s landslide victory

Published

4 years ago

June 9, 2022

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As projected, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state, defeated all comers to win the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Wednesday.

He polled 1,271 votes to defeat 13 other presidential hopefuls, with Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation, coming a very distant second after scoring 316. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo got 235 while Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the “consensus candidate” of Abdullahi Adamu, APC national chairman, polled 152.

How did Tinubu pull such a convincing victory — far beyond what the most generous pundits predicted? A common retort on social media is the role played by money, but, as TheCable reveals below, there was more to the landslide than that.

1. THE ABEOKUTA OUTBURST
In a fire-spitting address to south-west delegates five days to the APC convention, Tinubu recounted how he helped President Muhammadu Buhari win in 2015. He said Buhari had given up and cried on national TV after failing thrice in his quest to be elected president. Tinubu recounted: “But I went to his home in Kaduna. I told him ‘you would contest and win, but you won’t joke with the matter of the Yoruba’…” He insisted in Abeokuta that it is the turn of Yoruba to produce the president and in Yorubaland, “it is my turn”.

The outburst enraged his opponents and some in Buhari’s inner circle. Even Adamu, the party chairman, said his utterances would have consequences — a subtle threat to disqualify him. But Buhari did not buy into the negative reactions reportedly because everything Tinubu said was true. Although Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, later issued a statement saying it was “millions of Nigerians” and not Tinubu that made Buhari president, the president himself is said to have assured Tinubu when both of them met briefly on Saturday night that he would not interfere in the primary. This was after the president’s meeting with aspirants.

2. THE COUP BY EL-RUFAI

While Buhari was conferring with presidential aspirants, Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna state, quickly convened a meeting of 11 northern APC governors to counter an underground move by some of the party’s stalwarts to retain power in the north. The meeting persuaded Abubakar Badaru, the governor of Jigawa state, to withdraw from the race and decided to meet with Buhari to inform him they had resolved that power must shift to the south in the national interest.

However, TheCable understands that they were afraid they might be blocked or delayed from having audience with Buhari, so the outcome of the meeting was quickly leaked to the press and the attendance register was attached to make it look like a communique. The message gained immediate mileage in the media.

Badaru later said decisions taken at the meeting, including his withdrawal, were to be presented to Buhari for his consent and that he was against the leak. It was rather too late — other APC governors fell in line, apart from Yahaya Bello of Kogi state who remained adamant. Most of the APC northern governors thereafter felt free to work for Tinubu.

3. ‘SCARE THE USELESS PEOPLE AROUND BUHARI’
Aisha Buhari, the president’s highly political spouse, was the “Star Girl”: she played an important role in Tinubu’s victory. After Tinubu’s Abeokuta outburst, there were fears that his ambition might have been jeopardised. Although he spoke in Yoruba, it was translated into English in a way that made it look like he was disparaging and ridiculing the president. Buhari was initially upset, according to insiders who spoke with TheCable. Adamu wanted Buhari to “cage” Tinubu because of his utterances. Tinubu also issued a somewhat apologetic statement saying he did not intend to disrespect the president.

However, TheCable was informed that the first lady insisted Tinubu did not say anything wrong and should keep up the heat to scare the “useless people” around the president who were working against the realisation of Tinubu’s presidential ambition. The president’s wife’s position, TheCable learnt, was that a promise was made to Tinubu before the 2015 presidential election and Buhari was duty-bound to honour his word as “a man of integrity”. Even if he would not endorse Tinubu, he should not stand in his way or succumb to pressure to support Lawan. She clapped in excitement as Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti state governor, announced that he was stepping down for Tinubu at the convention ground.

On the day of the convention, Aisha prevented some politicians from having access to her husband at the presidential residence so that he would not be persuaded to change his position on not imposing any aspirant. Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, has issued a statement that Buhari would not interfere. Aisha distributed the statement through all her social media handles. A picture was circulated on the social media appearing to show her wearing a dress with Tinubu’s emblem.

4. WITHDRAWALS AND ENDORSEMENTS
After several failed attempts to get the south-west to present a candidate, with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in no mood to step down for his former boss, there were fears that the region’s votes would be split and this could inadvertently hand over victory to someone else. Many people knew Tinubu was going to win if the contest was not manipulated, but there were still fears that northern governors could be working secretly for Lawan in order to retain power in the region, especially as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has already given its ticket to Abubakar Atiku, former vice-president.

However, Tinubu’s hand was further strengthened when candidates from different regions started endorsing him. Godswill Akpabio, from the south-south, led the way. Badaru made the biggest statement when he stepped down and endorsed Tinubu. There was a feeling of “game over” as it became clear that the APC northern governors, bar Bello, meant business. Ibikunle Amosun, senator from Ogun state, also stepped down for Tinubu. They were previously arch rivals. From then on, it was a spate of withdrawals and endorsements — seven in all for Tinubu. The direction of the voting was no doubt enhanced there and then.

5. FORMIDABLE POLITICAL MACHINERY
With the exception of MKO Abiola and former president Olusegun Obasanjo, no Yoruba politician has made more in-road into the north than Tinubu, who has been building and oiling his political machinery and relationships for two decades. It was payback time. He had a solid strategy ahead of the APC presidential primary: focusing his energies and resources on states with the highest number of delegates: Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Osun, Borno, Jigawa, Niger, and Delta. With Lagos, Kaduna, Kwara and a number of others also in his corner, a landslide victory was inevitable.

So strong was Tinubu’s political network that all efforts by Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo state, and Adamu to neutralise him fell flat. “Uzodinma worked actively for Lawan and was already fancying himself as the vice-presidential candidate,” a party official told TheCable, adding that there were last-minute attempts to change the delegate list in the south-west and put those who would vote for Lawan but it ended up not having any impact on the final outcome.

CULLED FROM The Cable

Politics

2027: Peter Obi not a threat to Tinubu, says Sunday Dare

Published

2 weeks ago

June 28, 2026

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Sunday Dare, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on media and public communications, has dismissed talks that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, poses a political threat to the Tinubu administration, insisting that the government remains focused on delivering on its mandate.

Dare, while speaking during an interview on the Mic On Podcast, said the administration was confident in its achievements and ongoing reforms, arguing that its performance had strengthened its political standing ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, the government has carefully assessed the country’s challenges and is implementing policies aimed at addressing them.

“This government is not afraid of Peter Obi. He is not a nightmare to our government. Maybe before, Peter Obi was a threat, but right now, he is no threat because we stand on the solid ground of performance,” Dare said.

He added, “We have been able to interrogate the problems of this country. Decisions are being taken, policies are being unfolded across the country, and we have a scorecard to show.”

Dare also criticised Obi’s public comments and media appearances, describing some of his responses to questions as lacking clarity.

“Peter Obi is not a nightmare. Maybe you replace nightmare with nuisance because if you see some of his reactions, they are very pedantic. Sometimes you wonder. You listen to some of his interviews, ask him a question, and he goes in a roundabout direction that does not make sense,” he said.

Commenting on the 2027 presidential election, Dare expressed confidence that Obi would not replicate his performance in Lagos, where the former Labour Party presidential candidate defeated Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.

“Peter Obi defeated President Tinubu in Lagos in 2023. This is 2027; he can’t defeat Tinubu again in Lagos,” he said.

Dare’s remarks come amid increasing political positioning by major parties and key opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections, with both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition leaders intensifying public engagements over their records and electoral prospects.

News

Court orders INEC to deregister ADC, four other political parties

Published

4 weeks ago

June 15, 2026

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A federal high court in Abuja, the federal capital territory (FCT) has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.

The other political parties are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The plaintiff had asked the court to determine whether INEC is constitutionally required to deregister political parties that fail to satisfy the performance thresholds stipulated in section 225A of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The group argued that the five parties had consistently failed to meet the conditions for retaining their registration, including securing at least 25 percent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning elective positions at the national, state, or local government levels.

According to the plaintiff, the parties failed to achieve the required electoral performance in the 2023 general election and subsequent by-elections conducted by INEC.

The former lawmakers contended that allowing the parties to remain registered despite their poor electoral showing was contrary to constitutional provisions and detrimental to the integrity of the electoral process.

They prayed the court to compel INEC to deregister the parties before preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum.

The plaintiffs also sought orders restraining the affected parties from participating in elections, conducting primaries, organising rallies, or carrying out other political activities pending compliance with constitutional requirements.

In his judgment, Peter Lifu, the presiding judge, upheld the arguments of the plaintiff and ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties.

Politics

‘Learn from LP crisis’ — Abure warns Seriake Dickson to beware of Obi and his supporters

Published

1 month ago

June 9, 2026

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The factional national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has warned Seriake Dickson, national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), to be cautious in his alliance with Peter Obi and his supporters.

Obi, the presidential candidate of the labour party in the 2023 general election, is the presidential candidate of the NDC. He secured the party’s ticket on May 30 after he was ratified at its national convention held in Abuja.

Speaking in a statement he personally signed, Abure said Dickson appeared to have learnt from the recent crisis in the LP, describing the NDC leader’s alleged refusal to concede all elective positions in the party to Obi’s supporters as commendable.

The LP factional chairman, alleged that Obi and Alex Otti, governor of Abia, and many of their supporters who won elections on the platform of the LP in 2023 have since turned against the party’s leadership.

He stated: “They say, history usually repeats itself. Senator Dickson and Co have seen their trajectory and learnt from what happened to us, that a lot of them after they have won and now in government turned round and were struggling with the leadership of the party,” the statement reads.

“I want to say that Obi and his followers are ingrates who will never remember the sacrifices you made for them. It is even dangerous for the leadership of the NDC to wholly hand over the elective positions to Obi and his followers.

“We did it in 2022/23, immediately they saw that Obi was interested in the leadership of the party, all those elected under the platform of the party simply followed Obi, forgetting all the sacrifices and suffering we made for them.”

Abure claimed that the crisis in the LP worsened when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) obeyed a court ruling which said the tenure of the party’s leadership had lapsed, giving rise to the Nenadi Usman-led interim national committee.

“They fell into the trap of INEC, when the commission deceived them to say that the tenure of the executive has expired. We had expected them to reject that position,” Abure said.

He noted in the light of what transpired in the LP, “it is strategically” important for Dickson to retain some control within the NDC by ensuring that his own supporters occupied positions in the party.

“He needed to bring his own people so that when the chips are down, he will also have people that will speak and defend him,” Abure said.

Abure further claimed that Obi’s supporters joined the NDC to dominate the party’s structure as they allegedly did in the LP.

“They trooped into NDC with Obi hoping to occupy every space like they did in the Labour Party. No leader of any political party seeing what Obi did to the Labour Party, along with his followers will make that mistake again,” he said.

He noted that his comments were prompted by questions about how the LP managed Obi and his supporters during the 2022/2023 election cycle.

According to him, the party made significant sacrifices to accommodate Obi’s interests, including granting many tickets to his supporters free of charge.

“We ensured that Obi’s interests were adequately taken care of. We only looked at his body language, and we obliged most of his supporters’ tickets,” he said.

“Most of the tickets were for free believing that we were investing in those persons in line with the philosophy of the party, expecting that when they win, they will bring along necessary support that will help in the growth of the party.

“But ironically, when they came into power, they went after the leadership of the party.”

Abure also accused Obi and Otti of attempting to take over the party’s leadership following disputes over the tenure of its executives.

“The leaders, particularly, Peter Obi and Alex Otti decided to take over the leadership of the party,” he said.

He added that elected officials who emerged on the party’s platform failed to support it financially, urging the NDC to learn from the LP’s experience.