'Why Buhari Didn’t Name Successor in 2023 Election': Former DSS Boss Explains
by Adekunle Dada, https://www.facebook.com/legitngnews · Legit.ng News · Join- Charles Omole, the director general of the Institute for Police and Security Policy Research (IPSPR), has written a book on the life and times of the late President Muhammadu Buhari
- The 600-page book, “From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari,” was presented in Abuja on Monday, December 15, 2025
- In the book, former director general of the DSS Yusuf Bichi explained the reason Buhari refused to name or endorse a candidate in the 2023 presidential election
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
FCT, Abuja - The former director general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, said former President Muhammadu Buhari did not name a successor to save life and keep the All Progressives Congress (APC intact
Bichi said Buhari refused to openly anoint a successor ahead of the 2022 presidential primaries of the ruling APC.
He said Buhari decided to avoid exposing the candidate to danger and to maintain unity and cohesion in the party.
As reported by The Nation, the former DSS boss said Buhari made a wise decision in refusing to openly name a preferred successor.
Bichi stated these in the 600-page book: “From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari,” written by Dr Charles Omole.
“In those months, knives were out; politically and, as security professionals know too well, sometimes literally.
“To name an anointed heir would be to paint a target on a human being and to foreclose a process that, for all its imperfections, was designed to distribute risk.
“Buhari chose silence, and in doing so, absorbed the criticism that he was aloof. He was not.
“He was shielding a life and preserving a fragile equilibrium inside a party whose factions (tendencies) could as easily burn down the house as surrender the nomination they coveted.”
Aisha: "Buhari believed I planned to kill him"
Recall that Buhari's wife, Aisha, disclosed that her husband once believed in the Aso Rock gossip that she was planning to kill him.
The former first lady then went further and disclosed how the late president began to treat her at the presidential villa.
Aisha Buhari made this disclosure in a new 600-page biography of the late president, which was unveiled at the State House in Abuja on Monday, December 15, 2025.
Read more Muhammadu Buhari's related stories:
- Lai Mohammed to Unveil Book on Buhari’s Legacy on First Posthumous Birthday
- List of Buhari's Ex-Ministers Currently Under EFCC Investigation
- Lady Who Dreamt of Buhari Narrates What She Saw: "It Can Be A Message"
- How Late Buhari Stood Up to Trump at White House over Alleged Christian Genocide
- ‘How Buhari’s Praise Singers Ridiculed Him After He Left Office’: APC Governor Explains
Is it true that Buhari was poisoned in office?
Legit.ng also reported that Aisha Buhari finally dispelled the rumour that someone poisoned the former president while in office, leading to his 154 days of medical leave outside the country in 2017.
The ex-first lady maintained that the health challenges of her husband began with a broken routine, and his nutrition was mismanaged.
She explained that her husband's illness was not a mysterious ailment or poisoning, as it was speculated.
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