The former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu was marginalised within the All Progressives Congress during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
He claimed that he witnessed instances in which the President was sidelined at party meetings.
Akande said Tinubu endured the alleged treatment despite his contributions to Buhari’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate in 2015.
He spoke on the Naija Unfiltered podcast in an interview which was published by Symfoni TV on Friday.
“What did they not do against Bola Ahmed Tinubu? Tell me, what did they not do? Even between 2015 and 2023, the man was marginalised. I saw him with my korokoro eyes,” Akande said.
He added, “I sat in meetings where they put Bola Ahmed Tinubu behind me.”
Akande’s claims could not be independently verified.
He did not provide details in the reported remarks about the specific meetings or the circumstances surrounding the alleged incidents.
He also alleged that some people Tinubu reportedly nominated for ministerial positions during Buhari’s administration were rejected, claiming that other candidates were selected to undermine his influence.
“Alake was nominated; Edun was nominated. They went to choose the ones that he did not nominate to just make a point that you can’t dictate for us,” he said.
Akande did not provide further details about the nomination process or identify the officials he alleged were responsible for the decisions.
The remarks were part of Akande’s account of the political relationship between Tinubu and the APC leadership during Buhari’s eight-year presidency.
Akande said Tinubu did not leave the party despite the alleged treatment but remained politically active and waited for an opportunity to pursue his presidential ambition.
“He just waited. He bided his time,” Akande said.
He also cited the controversy surrounding the naira redesign policy ahead of the 2023 general election as part of the political challenges Tinubu faced before succeeding Buhari.
Akande’s account comes amid preparations by political parties and their leaders for the 2027 general election, with questions about party loyalty, internal power relations and the strength of the opposition featuring in political discussions.
The former presidential aide also argued that opposition parties should be able to withstand pressure from the ruling party, rather than attribute their difficulties solely to interference by the government.
“I’m not saying it’s right, but this is how they have done it. So, if you are serious as opposition, you must be able to withstand it and rise to the top by doing what has become common sense,” he said.
On the opposition’s prospects ahead of the 2027 elections, Akande urged former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to put aside his personal ambition to help unite opposition parties.
He argued that Atiku should be willing to make sacrifices if the opposition was serious about presenting a united challenge to the ruling APC.
“I think it is ego. So, the person that ought to make the move here is Atiku,” Akande said, according to the interview.
He suggested that Atiku should be prepared to step aside from his presidential ambition in the interest of a broader opposition alliance, arguing that personal ambition should not take precedence over the effort to build a viable alternative to the ruling party.