“Without Tinubu’s Masterstroke, Buhari Wouldn’t Be President – APC Chieftain Reveals

Former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VoN), Osita Okechukwu, has asserted that President Bola Tinubu played a pivotal role in Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 presidential victory, delivering what he described as the “premium golden block votes” that sealed the win.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Okechukwu made the statement on Thursday in response to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who recently downplayed Tinubu’s contribution to Buhari’s emergence as president.

“The truth is that President Tinubu laid the premium golden victory votes that made Buhari president in 2015,” Okechukwu said.

He dismissed Mustapha’s claims, saying the former SGF lacked firsthand knowledge of the political developments leading to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the alliance that produced Buhari’s win.

“My friend Boss Mustapha was not with us in 2003 when Buhari began his presidential journey. He wasn’t involved in the real merger negotiations. That’s why his argument relies solely on vote counts in 2015, ignoring the underlying political dynamics,” Okechukwu added.

He credited Tinubu for making a decisive move when he pledged the full backing of his political machinery to Buhari, despite his friendships with other major political figures.

“Tinubu assured Buhari of his full support and said clearly that Buhari was the man with the 12-million vote bank. Even when asked about his ties to Atiku and Kwankwaso, he stood firm,” Okechukwu recalled.

He went on to highlight Buhari’s earlier failed attempts in 2003, 2007, and 2011, citing electoral fraud and collapsed alliances as the main reasons for those defeats. The turning point, according to Okechukwu, was the successful merger between Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

“In 2011, failed merger talks cost Buhari dearly. But when we revived and completed the ACN-CPC merger in 2013, it led to the golden votes that propelled Buhari into Aso Rock,” he explained.

As a founding member of the APC, Okechukwu detailed the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the party’s creation, including moments when the CPC team insisted on dealing exclusively with ACN.

He recalled, “When we arrived at Chief Tom Ikimi’s house in Maitama, we refused to talk with ANPP or others. It took several adjournments before we agreed to the full APC merger in July 2013.”

Okechukwu concluded by affirming that Tinubu’s influence and the Southwest votes were crucial in securing Buhari’s constitutional spread across the country.

“Without Tinubu’s strategic support and those supplementary votes, there would have been no two-thirds spread—and no victory. The rest is history,” he stated.