Boss Mustapha Rebukes Tinubu, Says ‘You Didn’t Make Buhari President’

Tensions within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have intensified as former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has rebuked President Bola Tinubu for claiming that he was solely responsible for the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as president in 2015.

Mustapha, who served under Buhari, made the remarks on Wednesday during the public presentation of ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience’, a new book authored by Buhari’s former media aide, Garba Shehu, in Abuja.

Responding to previous claims made by Tinubu during his 2022 campaign that Buhari would not have been president without him, Mustapha dismissed the notion and credited Buhari’s long-established grassroots popularity in Northern Nigeria as the real engine behind the APC’s victory.

“The CPC had only one state then, but the important votes that gave us victory came from CPC,” Mustapha said.

“We knew what we did to produce Buhari’s presidency. Buhari already had 12 million votes. What the merger brought was an additional three million. It wasn’t about anyone making anyone president. Buhari’s base was already solid,” he added.

Tinubu, in a now-famous campaign address in Ogun State in June 2022, had declared that Buhari owed his presidency to him.

He recounted his efforts in building coalitions and stepping down from a potential vice-presidential slot for the sake of the party.

“If not for me talking to you today, Buhari would not have been president. It is over 25 years that I have been serving them,” Tinubu said.

“He [Buhari] tried the first time, he failed, the second time, he failed, the third time, he failed. He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again. But I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he will run again; I will stand by you and you will win,” Tinubu had stated.

The president further revealed that he was offered the vice-presidential slot but turned it down due to concerns about a Muslim-Muslim ticket and later nominated Yemi Osinbajo instead.

“I surrendered my right to Osinbajo. I was asked to submit three names, but I insisted on one. I didn’t get ministerial slots, I didn’t collect contracts. I have been serving for over 25 years. It is my time,” Tinubu had declared during that campaign rally.

The rebuttal is the latest reflection of the widening rift within the APC as internal power blocs realign ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Northern APC leaders, particularly those loyal to Buhari, have increasingly distanced themselves from Tinubu’s style of leadership and historical claims.

They have aligned with the coalition being led by former vice president Atiku Abubakar, which has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 election.

Ahead of the Buhari victory in 2015, various groups forged a coalition to form the APC. The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and factions of PDP and APGA— aligned and defeated then President, Goodluck Jonathan.

Although it has been three years since the infamous statement, Mustapha countered saying, “There’s a tendency to distort the facts. Buhari had an unshakable followership.

“The merger helped, but it wasn’t what made him win. The foundation was already there,” Mustapha concluded.

Boss Mustapha Rebukes Tinubu, Says ‘You Didn’t Make Buhari President’ is first published on The Whistler Newspaper