Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, leader of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), alleged that the late President Muhammadu Buhari feared a Bola Tinubu presidency might cause problems for Nigeria and refused to back him as his successor in 2023.
Baba-Ahmed made this claim at a Northern Elders Forum (NEF) summit. He linked Buhari’s supposed concerns to what he called the Tinubu administration’s poor performance.
As Nigerians face higher living costs, economic struggles, and growing dissatisfaction, the PRP chairman said the country should have paid more attention to Tinubu’s presidential ambitions before the 2023 election.
He pointed to Tinubu’s statement of “Emilokan,” a Yoruba phrase meaning “it is my turn,” as an early warning sign that Nigerians did not question.
“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” he said.
“We have a presidency of a country of 250 million people. My turn? To do what? To become president.”
Baba-Ahmed said the presidency should serve the people, not fulfil an individual’s ambition, arguing that the consequences of the country’s political choices have become increasingly evident under Tinubu.
“Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” he said.
The PRP chairman did not name anyone who allegedly pressured Buhari or share more information about the former president’s reported opposition to Tinubu becoming president.
Tinubu won the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket and took over from Buhari on May 29, 2023. He introduced major economic reforms, such as removing the petrol subsidy and changing the foreign exchange system.
The administration says these policies are needed to stabilise the economy and improve public finances. However, opposition leaders and many Nigerians struggling with rising food, transportation, and other essentials continue to criticise how these changes affect daily living costs.
Baba-Ahmed accused Tinubu of bringing the country to a worrying low point. He said Nigerians should not have to go through another four years of what he called abuse, neglect, and plunder.
“Now we are being depressed for having a president for three and a half years. He has dragged the country as low as it can go. And it has to stop him. We cannot go below, beyond where we are,” he said.
He added: “Every index of failure shows in this administration.”
The opposition party chairman expressed confidence that Nigerians would survive the current difficulties but warned against allowing Tinubu to secure another term at the expense of the country’s welfare.
“We will survive the four years of abuse, neglect, and plunder that Tinubu has caused because Nigeria has to survive for our children and their children,” he said.
“We will not allow a president to fulfil an ambition that one individual alone can wreck his country, just to prove that he has the power and the money to do so.”
Baba-Ahmed also criticised Tinubu’s re-election drive, questioning why the president had not personally made a stronger case to Nigerians for another four years in office.
He accused Northern governors of failing to adequately communicate the depth of economic hardship and public dissatisfaction in their states to the president, warning that the disconnect could have political consequences for the ruling party.
On the 2027 election, Baba-Ahmed said opposition parties were working to build a coalition capable of unseating Tinubu by setting aside their differences and pooling their political resources.
“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.
He urged Nigerians opposed to Tinubu’s return to support whoever emerges as the coalition’s presidential candidate.
“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.