Ex-Presidential Aide, Shehu Speaks On Buhari Working For Or Against Tinubu In 2027

A former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has dismissed speculations that his former boss is planning to oppose President Bola Tinubu or the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.

Speaking during an interview with Arise News on Tuesday, Shehu stated that Buhari remains firmly committed to the APC and harbours no intention of turning against the party that gave him the highest political honour of his life.

“No, not at all. President Buhari’s position was and still is that he’s an APC person. APC did him the big favour of his life. Made him president for two terms. He is not going to betray that party,” Shehu declared.

Naija News reports that Shehu further reminded critics that it was the coalition formed between Buhari, Tinubu and other APC leaders that brought the former general to power in 2015 after three failed attempts.

“President Buhari ran for office three times and didn’t win until they came together with Tinubu and all the others and they won. Is it President Buhari who will quit?” he asked rhetorically.

Responding to long-standing criticisms of Buhari’s leadership style, Shehu pushed back against the narrative that the former president was detached from national discourse or unaware of developments during his tenure.

“This thing about Buhari being unaware, it is totally, totally misplaced. If you permit me, I would say that he perhaps would pass as the most aware president Nigeria has ever had,” Shehu stated.

He described Buhari as someone who avoided public grandstanding and preferred to let his achievements speak for themselves.

The former presidential aide said, “President Buhari didn’t just want to cut ribbons and take pictures. He wasn’t a showman. He wanted his work to speak for him.”

Sharing insight into Buhari’s daily routine, Shehu recalled how the president would often beat his media team to the day’s news cycle.

“When we started with him, we would go to Buhari’s house for breakfast and then tell him what the radio stations have said, what the talk shows are discussing, and what the newspapers are saying. Believe me, by the time you got to him, he would have read ahead of you,” he recounted.

He added that the fastest way to catch Buhari’s attention on any issue wasn’t through bureaucracy but through media channels.

Shehu stated, “The fastest way they could get to the president at that time with a problem was not to go through civil service and write a memo. Go to the press. Talk to the television.”

In response to complaints that Buhari was often slow to act, Shehu argued that his cautious approach was rooted in his transition from a military ruler to a democrat.

He said, “Was he slow? Yeah. He himself had joked about all of that. And he kept on saying, when he came in as military head of state, he was brash, he just did things on impulse and ordered people to be locked up. But this time, as a converted democrat, he needed to follow the due processes that the law says he should follow.”

Shehu acknowledged that Nigerians were sometimes frustrated by the pace of government decisions under Buhari but said the former president was committed to upholding democratic norms and procedures.

He added, “Nigerians are very impatient. We want to rush through things. But he says, ‘No. The democratic process sets the rules. And I must not go against them.”