Buhari Promised But Dumped Tinubu As Vice Presidential Candidate In 2015 – Akande

The former interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande has revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari asked Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to be his running mate but disappointed the APC leader after getting the party’s ticket.

Akande who made the revelation in a section of his autobiography titled “My Participations” which was launched in Lagos on Thursday said Buhari had approached Tinubu to be his running mate before he got the APC presidential ticket.

He however added that upon getting the ticket, Buhari disappointed Tinubu by reneging on his promise to make him his running mate.

The former Osun State Governor said the meeting where Buhari promised Tinubu the Vice Presidency slot took place in 2014 in Buhari’s private lobby.

He wrote: “In April 2014, I was in Abuja when Buhari called me and asked me to persuade Bola to run with him. Governor Masari was the one who came to call me. When I followed him into Buhari’s private lobby, Bola Tinubu was already seated there.

“So, when Buhari tabled the matter, I cautioned them that this must not get out beyond the four of us. ‘How could he be talking of a running mate when he had not secured the ticket?” I mused.

“I thought such information, if leaked to the general public, might affect the conduct of the party’s congress at the presidential primaries, if not its choice of candidate. I thanked Buhari for thinking so highly of our friend. Bola later told me that Buhari’s emissaries had been coming to him, but he tried to dodge the gesture and not to show interest. We agreed that we would reopen the matter when Buhari had secured the ticket,” he explained.

The elder statesman revealed however that Buhari went back on his words after clinching the APC presidential ticket for the 2015 elections and when he (Akande) angrily confronted him on the matter, he said it was done because of pressure from other quarters not to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket.

“He said it was from this list that Buhari would choose a running mate. I objected. I turned to Buhari. ‘General, where are you choosing your running mate from?’ He answered, ‘The South-west.’ ‘Oh! I didn’t know,’Oyegun said. He apologized.

“I didn’t know why Oyegun made that proposition and at whose behest. As the chairman of the party, maybe some people pushed him to do that.

“Then, I called Buhari aside. ‘Is our arrangement still standing?’ I referred him to our discussion in April. He said yes!”

He said the situation later changed and Buhari told him some northern governors are putting pressure on him to avoid a same-religion ticket.

“We were all in Abuja and Tinubu rushed to me with this information. He wanted to know whether the understanding we reached with Buhari had changed. I called Buhari and he told me he now needed three names from us. I was angry with him.

‘‘General, this was not what we agreed upon,’ I said in annoyance. ‘You are changing our agreement?’ He knew I was getting angry. He said he was under pressure from some governors from the north, including those who were Muslims. I told him the slot belonged to the South-West and among the Yoruba, religion is not a factor in leadership,” he said.

“Oshiomhole was surprised about the narration. ‘If indeed you promised to make Asiwaju your running mate, it would not be fair to renege,’ he said. Buhari now said he never meant it that way. What he meant originally was that Tinubu should partner with him.”