The presidency and several senior figures within the All Progressives Congress (APC) have faulted claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, over the events that led to Muhammadu Buhari’s historic victory in the 2015 presidential election.

Mustapha, speaking at a book launch in Abuja on Wednesday, had argued that it was Buhari’s personal integrity and disciplined public image—not the political influence of then APC leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu—that secured his electoral success. But the assertion has drawn sharp rebuttals.

Reacting in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said President Tinubu played an indispensable role in Buhari’s emergence as APC flag bearer and eventual president. He stated that without Tinubu’s support, Buhari would not have defeated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso during the APC presidential primary held in Lagos in 2014.

Onanuga also cited comments by former SGF Babachir Lawal, who had acknowledged Tinubu’s role but, according to Onanuga, had only scratched the surface.

“Tinubu also ensured that Buhari won the APC ticket, defeating challenges from Atiku and Kwankwaso. Then, he gave Buhari what had been missing in his constant 12 million votes—geographical spread and additional votes from the South West,” Onanuga wrote.

Jonathan knew the South West would decide the winner of the 2015 election. He spent weeks campaigning in the zone, trying to garner support. He failed. Buhari won,” he added.

Also weighing in, Senator Abu Ibrahim, a close associate of both Tinubu and Buhari, said Mustapha lacked understanding of the political arrangements that led to Buhari’s win.

“I think it was wrong of him (Mustapha) to make that statement, because he was not in the midst of the political arrangement at that time. He didn’t know what happened. He just became Secretary to the Government later, but there was a long movement before Buhari and Tinubu came together,” Senator Ibrahim said in an interview with Daily Trust.

He recalled that while Buhari had secured millions of votes in previous elections, he consistently failed to meet the constitutional requirement of 25 percent in two-thirds of the states.

“I was always advising him to get somebody from the South who was strong and could give him that 25 percent. I told him to sit down with Asiwaju to form either a union or a new party. He agreed—and that’s how it started. It was only when Tinubu came on board that we were able to get the two-thirds requirement in the western states,” Ibrahim explained.

“Despite Buhari’s 12 million votes, it was the merger and Tinubu’s involvement that helped us meet the constitutional requirements. For Mustapha to say otherwise is wrong,” he added.

Another associate of former President Buhari, Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, also echoed Senator Ibrahim’s position during an appearance on Channels Television, insisting that President Tinubu played a pivotal role in Buhari’s eventual emergence as president in 2015.

“Let’s not talk about the 12 million votes, because the 12 million votes did not translate into the presidency,” he said, arguing that without Tinubu’s backing, Buhari might have lost the APC presidential primary to either Atiku or Kwankwaso.

“Anybody trying to deconstruct history by claiming Tinubu did not contribute is simply wrong. So, let’s not take such statements too seriously,” he added.

On his part, another APC chieftain and associate of Buhari, Osita Okechukwu, said the former SGF should be excused due to his limited knowledge of the party’s early formation.

“There is no need for controversy because my friend Boss Mustapha should be excused—he was not with us in 2003 when Buhari began the presidential race. He was in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and did not know the waters that passed under the realpolitik bridge. This is why he relied only on mathematical calculations in 2015, not on realpolitik,” he said.

Okechukwu recalled that in the 2003 presidential election, their legal team argued at the tribunal that Buhari had won the majority of votes—beyond the 12.7 million INEC attributed to him—an argument captured in Justice Sylvester Nsofor’s minority judgement.

He added that in 2011, when a proposed merger with Tinubu’s ACN failed, Buhari again lost. But when the alliance was rekindled in 2013, it led to “the premium golden victory votes that propelled our principal to Aso Rock.” (Daily Trust)