The election of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as APC presidential candidate last week is proof that President Muhammadu Buhari is not an elected autocrat, the Presidency has said.
This was disclosed in a statement by Buhari’s spokesperson Malam Garba Shehu on Tuesday.
The statement was titled, ‘President’s laudatory role in the APC primary.’
This is coming after a series of speculations of anointing of aspirants by Buhari’s key staff, popularly called ‘the cabal.’
He dismissed media reports that the cabal holds the ace in key political and policy issues in Buhari’s Presidency.
The statement reads: “The media are being inundated with made up stories– speculating about the role of the President in the flagbearer contest: whether he had a favoured candidate, and whether manoeuvres were made to install them; whether the chosen flagbearer was the President’s choice, or another. And on and on.
“Speculation is easy. But facts are simple. The President always said he had a favoured candidate. He said that candidate was whoever was chosen by the APC in a democratic primary to lead the party at the election.
“Those still assailing the APC and the President expounding conspiracy theories and making all manner of speculations about who did what or did not need to understand the important point about the country’s leader: President Buhari takes his own decisions and carries them out without the backup of a so-called “cabal” or back room boys. The strong leader myth in Nigeria has lasted far too long.
“People make assumptions that if you are a leader, you dominate everything, and even determine electoral outcomes.
“Luckily for Nigeria, President Buhari does not suffer from such constraints. He refuses to act as the elected autocrat.”
He said the President had a clear purpose leading up to the primary to ensure a transparent, free and fair process that would bring back people’s faith in democracy by taking good governance up to the grassroots level.
The presidential spokesman said people’s faith and that of the international community in the nation’s democracy had received a major boost since the completion of the APC nomination because of the president’s mission, stating that “The flagbearer has been chosen. He has the President’s unwavering support. The journey to victory continues.”
“When it is election season we all expect speculation to reach fever-pitch.
“The press pores over every word spoken, scours every photo taken, and reports every indication suggested, seeking signs of who is supporting who like private investigators – or fiction writers.
“There’s no greater intrigue for this kind of speculation-journalism than a party flagbearer primary.
“But it only comes around once every four years – or every eight following President Buhari’s second term. Therefore, the media must make the most of it.
“So, what a disappointment the All Progressives Congress (APC) party flagbearer primary must have been for those who assembled to witness a catastrophe? No intrigue, no division, no disagreement, no defeated candidates rejecting the result, no splits, no third-party runs.
“Only determination to rally around the chosen flagbearer to deliver victory and an APC third term in February 2023.
“The opposition reaction to this successful nomination convention has come by way of a counter offensive, so that we do not go on the offensive. In some instances, there is clear evidence of a conspiracy to destabilize the governing party and defame the President.”
