Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to support President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as his successor in 2023 because he considered him bad news for Nigeria.
Baba-Ahmed made the claim at a summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum, in a video published on Symfoni’s YouTube channel on Saturday.
He also criticised Tinubu’s famous “Emilokan” declaration during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, arguing that Nigerians should have questioned the statement at the time.
“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said, ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” he said.
He questioned the implication of the declaration, given the size and diversity of Nigeria’s population.
“We have a presidency of a country of 250 million people. My turn? To do what? To become president,” he added.
The PRP chairman further alleged that Buhari resisted pressure from some political actors who wanted Tinubu to succeed him.
“Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He accused the Tinubu administration of worsening the country’s condition, describing its performance as a failure across key indicators.
“Every index of failure shows in this administration,” he said, adding that Nigerians had endured what he described as years of “abuse, neglect, and plunder”.
Baba-Ahmed also accused the president of prioritising his personal ambition over the welfare of Nigerians and criticised him for relying on political allies to campaign for his re-election rather than personally appealing to citizens.
He faulted northern governors for allegedly failing to draw Tinubu’s attention to the economic hardship and dissatisfaction in the region.
Despite his criticism, Baba-Ahmed expressed confidence that Nigeria would overcome its current challenges, saying the country had survived previous crises.
He also disclosed that opposition parties were working towards a coalition to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
According to him, the proposed alliance is prepared to set aside political differences and pool resources to build a formidable opposition capable of defeating the president.
“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed said the coalition would present a joint presidential candidate and urged Nigerians opposed to Tinubu’s re-election to support whoever emerges.
“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.
He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2027 general election reflects the wishes of voters, expressing confidence that Tinubu would lose if the process was credible.