Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has recounted how President Bola Tinubu was allegedly marginalised and humiliated under the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, urging former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to make sacrifices to unite the opposition ahead of the 2027 general election.
Akande said Tinubu endured mistreatment within the All Progressives Congress (APC) despite his contributions to Buhari’s emergence as president in 2015, but chose to remain in the party and wait for his opportunity rather than abandon it.
Speaking on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, Akande said he personally witnessed instances in which Tinubu was sidelined during Buhari’s presidency.
“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,” he said.
“I sat in meetings where they put Bola Ahmed Tinubu behind me,” Akande added.
According to him, Tinubu did not allow the treatment to push him out of the APC but remained patient and continued to organise politically until he eventually succeeded Buhari in 2023.
“He just waited. He bided his time,” Akande said.
He also cited the controversy surrounding the naira redesign policy in the run-up to the 2023 election, arguing that Tinubu responded to the political challenges by mobilising rather than abandoning his ambition.
Akande dismissed claims that the ruling APC was responsible for the divisions among opposition leaders, saying political parties must be able to withstand pressure from the party in power.
“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.
The former presidential aide attributed the opposition’s difficulties partly to ego, arguing that Atiku should take the initiative to build a united front against Tinubu.
“But to the point, I think it is ego. So, the person that ought to make the move here is Atiku,” he said.
Akande urged the former vice president to be willing to put aside his personal ambition in the interest of the opposition’s collective goal.
“Atiku is one that was supposed to say, ‘You know what? We are going to make sure that we get this guy out, and I’m going to sacrifice,’” he said.
He added that such a move could strengthen the opposition’s chances of mounting a coordinated challenge against the ruling party.
Akande also recalled that despite Tinubu’s role in Buhari’s emergence as APC presidential candidate in 2015, some of the people he reportedly nominated for ministerial positions were rejected.
“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, referring to current ministers Dele Alake and Wale Edun.
Akande said Tinubu did not abandon the APC despite the alleged rejection of his nominees, describing his decision to remain in the party and wait for another opportunity as a form of sacrifice.
He argued that opposition leaders should draw lessons from Tinubu’s experience by prioritising their broader political objectives over individual ambitions.
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