Akande disputes Lawal’s claims about Osinbajo and Buhari

Laolu Akande, a former spokesperson for Yemi Osinbajo, has rejected allegations by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal about Muhammadu Buhari’s views on Osinbajo’s presidential ambition and appointments in the vice president’s office. Akande said his account was based on decisions he witnessed while working in the office. The men offer conflicting accounts of whether Buhari supported Osinbajo’s bid to succeed him. Lawal said Buhari considered it immoral and distasteful for Osinbajo to contest the 2023 election against Bola Tinubu, citing Buhari’s longstanding relationship with Tinubu. Akande countered that Buhari had offered to support Osinbajo’s 2022 ambition on at least four occasions. Akande also said Buhari publicly praised Osinbajo’s campaign at a Federal Executive Council meeting during the 2022 All Progressives Congress presidential primaries. According to Akande, Buhari commended the way Osinbajo conducted the campaign. The reports provide the two men’s competing statements but no independent evidence resolving what Buhari said in private or what he intended. The dispute also concerns how staff appointments in Osinbajo’s office were...