A former presidential spokesperson has alleged that a powerful cabal within late President Muhammadu Buhari’s government rejected President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial picks, including Dele Alake and Wale EdunThe cabal reportedly backed Ahmad Lawan as consensus APC presidential candidate ahead of the 2022 primary, where Tinubu eventually prevailedLaolu Akande claims Tinubu was repeatedly sidelined within the Buhari administration despite his role in building the APC into a winning partyPAY ATTENTION: Mark Legit.ng as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!Laolu Akande, a former spokesperson to ex-Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, has alleged that a powerful cabal within former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration actively worked to undermine President Bola Tinubu, blocking his ministerial picks and backing a rival candidate during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary.Laolu Akande, who hosts the political programme Inside Sources, made the claims in an interview with Symfoni TV published on Friday, October 24, offering a candid account of the political tensions that defined Buhari’s presidency between 2015 and 2023.President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominees rejected by late Muhammadu Buhari’s cabal Photo Credit: @MBuhari, @officialABAT Source: TwitterTinubu: Blocked appointments and political sideliningAccording to Akande, the cabal within the Buhari presidency went as far as rejecting ministerial nominees that Tinubu had put forward, including Dele Alake, now minister of solid minerals, and Wale Edun, the former minister of finance. He described the rejections as a deliberate signal that Tinubu held no real influence over appointments in the administration.PAY ATTENTION: From breaking news to viral moments. Follow Legit.ng on Instagram!”What did they not do against president Tinubu? Tell me.
Between 2015 and 2023? The man was marginalised. I saw it with my own eyes,” Akande said.He claimed to have personally witnessed Tinubu being excluded during meetings, yet noted that the former Lagos governor chose patience over confrontation while waiting for his moment.The consensus candidate controversyAkande also linked the cabal to the push to install Ahmad Lawan, the former Senate President, as the APC’s consensus presidential candidate ahead of the 2022 primary. In June of that year, then APC national chairman Abdullahi Adamu announced Lawan as the party’s preferred candidate, a move that drew immediate and fierce resistance from members demanding a proper primary.The party eventually held the primary election, where Tinubu defeated a field that included Lawan, Osinbajo, and former transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi to clinch the presidential ticket.Akande suggested that this episode reflected the cabal’s wider effort to shape Buhari’s succession in a direction that would exclude Tinubu, and that those preferences may have contributed to Buhari’s reluctance to publicly endorse any particular candidate.Naira redesign and Tinubu’s responseAkande also addressed the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in the lead-up to the 2023 general election, describing it as a development that posed a serious threat to Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
He credited the then-candidate with responding to the crisis with clarity and decisive organisation, which he said ultimately helped Tinubu navigate a difficult period and proceed to victory.Laolu Akande explained how President Bola Tinubu endures under the late Muhammadu Buhari government Photo Credit: @MBuhari Source: TwitterKwankwaso receives former APC leader to NDCLegit.ng earlier reported that a fresh wave of defections to the NDC hit on Saturday, October 11, 2026, as a former APC leader from Kumbotso LGA joined the party.Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the NDC’s Vice Presidential Candidate, hosted the defecting official at his Kano residence.A media aide to Kwankwaso shared a video of the event on X, signalling growing momentum for the NDC ahead of 2027. Source: Legit.ng Bada Yusuf (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Yusuf Amoo Bada is an accomplished writer with over 5 years of experience in journalism and writing, he is also politics and current affairs editor with Legit.ng. He holds B.A in Literature from OAU, and Diploma in Mass Comm. He has obtained certificates in Google’s Advance Digital Reporting, News Lab workshop.
He previously worked as an Editor with OperaNews. Best Editor of the Year for Politics and Current Affairs Desk (2023) by Legit.ng. Contact: bada.yusuf.amoo@corp.legit.ng Bola TinubuAPCArewaMuhammadu BuhariNigerian Presidency Good morning love letters Nigerian agricultural quarantine service Sadia sanusi Richest musicians nigeria Football trophies
