A former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said his appointment by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 was the result of years of trust, shared convictions, loyalty, and service, rather than a single moment.
Mohammed, who served as information minister for almost eight years during Buhari’s administration, disclosed this in his book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration.
The book, launched in Abuja on December 17, 2025, to coincide with what would have been Buhari’s 83rd birthday, chronicles his experiences as minister under the late President.
Recalling the period after Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015, Mohammed said it took a while for the former President to name his cabinet.
However, because of the trust and confidence Buhari placed in him, Mohammed was personally appointed to the Ahmed Joda-led Transition Committee in April 2015, after the other members had already been named.
The committee was tasked with liaising with the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to review handover notes and prepare a blueprint for the incoming government.
Mohammed detailed the telephone conversation that led to his appointment: “‘Hello,’ the voice on the line said. ‘Is this Alhaji Lai Mohammed?’ I answered in the affirmative. ‘Hold on for Mr President,’ the voice said.
“Then another voice, apparently that of the President-elect, came on the line and asked: ‘Lai, where are you?’
“‘Your Excellency, I am in Lagos.’
“‘What are you doing in Lagos?’ he asked.
“‘I live in Lagos, Your Excellency,’ I replied.
“He then went straight to the reason for the call: ‘Are you not coming for the inaugural meeting of the Transition Committee in Abuja tomorrow?’
“I replied, ‘Your Excellency, I am not a member of the committee.’ He then said, ‘Ok, Tunde (Sabiu, his longtime personal assistant) will call you,’ and he hung up.
“Within the hour, I received a call from Tunde, who asked where he should deliver the letter appointing me to the transition committee,” Mohammed narrated in the book.
He said that when the committee was first named and he was not included, he did not feel left out or slighted, but was simply happy that the party had won the elections.
According to Mohammed, Buhari’s personal appointment marked the beginning of a cordial and special relationship that lasted until the former President’s death on July 13, 2025.
Mohammed also recalled that a few days before Buhari’s 100th day in office, a close confidant of the President requested him to assist the spokesmen ahead of the landmark celebration.
At that time, Buhari had not yet named his ministers but had appointed Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu as his spokespersons.
“I did not need a soothsayer to tell me that the call was a further indication of the President’s confidence in me.
“The same confidant told me on another occasion that if there was anyone the President was very sure would make his cabinet and whose portfolio he was already sure of, that person was me,” he wrote.
Mohammed said his relationship with Buhari dated back to 2012, when he requested through Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that Buhari write the foreword to his first book, Witness to History. Buhari graciously agreed, wrote the foreword, and attended the book launch.
The next encounter came during the run-up to the 2015 general election, after the merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mohammed, who was the opposition spokesman for the Action Congress of Nigeria and later the APC for over a decade, said he was regularly part of meetings with Buhari in Kaduna alongside his political leader, President Bola Tinubu, and Chief Bisi Akande. These meetings were usually held on Mondays and Thursdays.
He added that these long-standing interactions, built on mutual respect and shared political ideals, laid the foundation for the confidence Buhari later placed in him as minister.
“Serving in Buhari’s administration for nearly eight years allowed me to witness firsthand the former President’s dedication to discipline, integrity, and national service—values that guided my own conduct in office,” Mohammed said.
(NAN)