THE Presidency has said no one individual can claim responsibility for Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the 2015 election.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement released on Monday.
He noted that Buhari’s victory was a result of concerted efforts, as many people played various roles during the 2015 election which brought him to power.
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“There are those who advised the President to run again; those who decided to build a political party – the APC – that could finally be the political vehicle capable of delivering victory where all other opposition parties and alliances before it had failed.
“Those decisions may have been agreed upon by a few. But they were delivered by thousands and voted for by tens of millions. No one can or should claim to have made the possible,” he said.
The statement had been made following claims by former Lagos state governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he made Buhari, president.
Shehu further noted that the efforts leading to the 2015 victory were not enough to determine the party flag bearer in the forthcoming general elections.
“Yet as important as that moment was, it is not what should decide the next general election.
“What matters is the future: the policy platforms, the ideas, the drive, and the determination to take over the President’s stewardship of our country and build upon his legacy to make our country better than it has ever been.
“The person most demonstrable in those qualities is the one to lead our party and our country forward,” he said.
Tinubu had publicly declared last Thursday while addressing members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that Buhari would never have become president without his support.
“If not me that led the war front, Buhari would not have emerged. He contested first, second and third times, but lost. He even wept on television, declaring that he would not contest again,” he said.
He, however, stated two days later that his comments at the event had been grossly misinterpreted.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.