Amaechi, Not Tinubu, Made Buhari President – APC Chieftain Fires Back At Presidency

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu played a significant role in making late Muhammadu Buhari president.

He stated this while reacting to a statement credited to the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi.

Tinubu’s aide claimed in a post on his social media handle that even though Buhari had his “12 million captive Northern votes,” he lost the presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011 before 2015.

“General Buhari would not have won the APC primary election at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, in 2014, without President Tinubu, who mobilised the APC governors and the South West delegates to move Buhari’s way,” Ajayi stated.

Reacting via a statement on Tuesday, Eze said there was a need to correct what he described as “erroneous impression”.

“The fact that the insensitive sponsored statement gained traction in the media space makes this rebuttal imperative.

“I don’t intend to join issues with Ajayi, but to demount the falsehood he intends to establish in the congregation of the reading public.

“Ajayi’s insinuation is a fairy tale, a false narrative that should be disconnected by right-thinking Nigerians.

“Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, the former Governor of Rivers State, remains an undisputed factor in the history book of top brass Nigerians that worked towards the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the eventual winner at the presidential polls.

“As a matter of fact, aside from becoming the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign, where he mobilized Nigerians to deliver Buhari during the elections, Barr. Amaechi raised funds that saw the election of Buhari as the APC Presidential candidate.

“On the eve of the Primaries, Buhari was at the verge of losing until Amaechi stepped in to save the situation.

“At least, the former Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, as an insider in most of APC activities, should understand what he was saying about how Buhari became the President of Nigeria.

“I cannot remember seeing Temitope Ajayi, near APC activities during both the 2014 Presidential Primaries that elected Buhari as the APC Presidential candidate, for him to know who made Buhari President or who contributed more in his emergence,” Eze stated.

The APC chieftain stated that Tinubu had plotted to truncate Buhari’s victory if he was not made the running mate.

He explained that it was Amaechi and a few others who stood against Tinubu’s opposition with the simple reasoning that it would be risky facing PDP then with a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“That was how Osinbanjo was drafted into the map. And ever since then, Tinubu has always seen Amaechi as an adversary.

“Since then, Tinubu has not forgiven Amaechi for denying him this dream of becoming the Vice President of Nigeria; and set himself to ensure the decimation of Amaechi politically, with the feeling that Amaechi will become a stumbling block to his presidential ambition in future,” Eze said.

Eze added that as a result of the development, Tinubu ensured that Amaechi was not made the Chief of Staff to Buhari or appointed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, positions he said were reserved for Amaechi after successfully midwifing the election of Buhari as the President of Nigeria.

He said: “Ajayi has lost memory, if not, why did he forget so soon that Amaechi, as the Campaign Director General of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation defeated a sitting President?”