The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said that former President Muhammadu Buhari would not have won the 2015 presidential election without the crucial support of Tinubu and the Action Congress of Nigeria.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday night, Onanuga dismissed recent claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who argued that the merger that formed the All Progressives Congress in 2013 contributed only three million votes to Buhari’s eventual win.
The parties involved in the merger were the Congress for Progressive Change, Action Congress of Nigeria and All Nigerian Peoples Party.
Mustapha on Wednesday had said that Buhari already commanded a consistent base of over 12 million votes before the merger, suggesting that the CPC’s alliance with ACN and ANPP played a minimal role in his victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan.
However, Onanuga countered the claim, stating that while Buhari had a strong northern following, he lacked the national spread required to win the presidency on his own.
Onanuga said Buhari, despite his millions of votes, was “nowhere” in the South and needed ACN for the electoral “spread” necessary to win the presidential election.
The presidential spokesperson asserted that ACN got Buhari the “important votes” in the south.
“It was clear to ACN, a very strategic arm of that alliance, that without additional support, there was no way Buhari could have won the election.
“Yeah, he was getting 12 million votes if you put all the 19 states together, but in the south, Buhari was nowhere. Buhari needed the spread. ACN had six.
“Buhari got the votes he needed in those six states. They may not be in millions, but there were important votes.
“He won in all those six states, and he got more than 25 per cent. At the end of the day, he won in about 25 states, more than the constitutional requirement of 24 states,” he said.
Onanuga further stressed that the former president remained grateful for Tinubu’s role in making the 2015 victory possible.
He said, “Buhari never forgot the help that Tinubu rendered to him. He wouldn’t have become president without Tinubu’s assistance.”