Former SGF Babachir Lawal reveals Tinubu played key role in APC's formation, backed Buhari's 2015 presidential bid financially

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has made a significant revelation about President Bola Tinubu's instrumental role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress, as well as his substantial financial backing of the 2015 presidential campaign that brought former President Muhammadu Buhari to power.

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Lawal, who served as SGF under Buhari, disclosed this information during an interview on Symfoni TV that was released on Saturday, where he also recounted his own role as a bridge between Buhari and Tinubu to facilitate the merger of opposition parties into the APC.

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The primary goal of this merger, according to Lawal, was to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party, and he initially declined to take on this role due to potential backlash from some northern political figures, but eventually accepted after Buhari insisted.

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Lawal narrated a conversation with the late former president, where Buhari told him, "you are the only one that can help us do this merger because Bola is your friend," and he then shuttled between the parties and consulted co-chairmen to ensure the merger succeeded.

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Tinubu, according to Lawal, deferred his own presidential ambition at the time to prioritize removing the PDP from power, telling him, "BD, you know my ambition to be president, but the way the country is going, the primary goal is to get rid of PDP, I will defer my ambition, put it aside until we achieve this goal."

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At the APC presidential convention, Lawal said Tinubu played a decisive role in securing the support Buhari needed to emerge as the party's candidate, after analyzing delegate strengths late into the night and presenting data showing Buhari's strong northern support required backing from the South-West.

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Lawal recalled telling Tinubu, "I said, sir, look at it, I have this data… This man, whether he is on the ballot or not, he normally gets 12 million votes from the north, so it required three more million votes… Sir, why not support your winning ticket," and Tinubu was persuaded by the argument and agreed to support Buhari.

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Tinubu's support was secured at the last minute, around 4 a.m., and Lawal claimed that Tinubu also mobilized substantial funds for the campaign and separately financed former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's campaign activities because they operated somewhat independently of the main Buhari campaign.

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Lawal stated, "Through him, we were able to raise sufficient funds to do the campaign," and Tinubu also hired a chartered plane to fund Osinbajo's trip, as Osinbajo's campaign was a little bit broken away from the main campaign.

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Tinubu also engaged political consultants from the United States, whom Lawal described as associates of former US President Barack Obama, to strengthen the APC's campaign strategy, and he paid them in excess of two billion naira equivalent in dollars.

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Lawal alleged that Tinubu personally bore the cost of major campaign expenditures instead of drawing from the campaign's central funds, saying, "if there's a need for an expenditure, no matter how massive, he doesn't come to the campaign purse, he spends from his own purse."

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Lawal described the President as highly generous before assuming office, saying, "Bola has given some people a stupendous amount of money to help them out of crisis that I know first-hand, without expecting anything," and adding that Tinubu has a gift for seeing potential returns in advance.

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However, Lawal drew a sharp contrast with Tinubu's current leadership, describing the Tinubu administration after three years in office as "a failure," and accusing it of putting self-interest above the national interest.

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Lawal stated, "The people running the government don't seem to be people who love the country, they are people who love themselves," and added that "everybody is bitter that life is tough."

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Regarding Tinubu personally, Lawal said, "Suddenly, I don't know what has happened, he has lost his soul… Having come to this government, he has lost his soul."