Buba Galadima, a prominent figure in the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and a former ally of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has asserted that Buhari actively worked to prevent Bola Tinubu from succeeding him as president.
Galadima, who was once a close associate of Buhari, reminded Nigerians that Buhari never supported Tinubu’s rise to the presidency.
“Buhari never wanted President Tinubu to succeed him. But because Tinubu has a large heart, he has refused to talk about it,” Galadima said, recalling his past relationship with Buhari before the latter’s presidency.
Galadima further elaborated on Buhari’s actions leading up to the 2023 general elections, highlighting the former president’s efforts to block Tinubu from contesting.
This was particularly evident in Buhari’s decision to nominate Ahmed Lawan, the former Senate President, to run in the APC primary elections, rather than support Tinubu.
“It was open that Buhari never wanted Tinubu to succeed him,” Galadima stated.
According to Galadima, Tinubu was fully aware of Buhari’s efforts to undermine his political ambitions.
However, in a display of magnanimity and statesmanship, Tinubu chose not to address the issue publicly.
Galadima shared an anecdote about his own experience with Buhari, revealing that during his time in the APC, Buhari had caused a subcommittee to be formed to “reinvigorate” the party’s constitution.
Galadima explained that the subcommittee was set up after Buhari ordered that the secretaries of merging parties like CPC and ACN should be included in the APC’s Board of Trustees (BOT) and National Working Committee (NWC) due to their institutional memory.
“Tinubu saw into what Buhari was trying to do. As I speak to you, the committee has not sat, it hasn’t submitted any report, and the constitution has not been amended. And that was part of why even Buhari never wanted him to be the president – because he refused to take me out,” Galadima revealed.
He also pointed out that for over 12 years, the APC’s BOT had not convened, and the NWC only met a handful of times during Buhari’s tenure.
Galadima attributed these issues to Buhari’s apparent desire to distance himself from him, which ultimately led to his departure from the party.
When asked again about Buhari’s efforts to block Tinubu’s succession, Galadima responded, “Is there anybody who doesn’t know? Tinubu himself knows. Because he’s being magnanimous as a statesman, he doesn’t want to say his mind.”
