‘These Are All Yorubas’: Babachir Lawal Reveals Buhari Questioned Osinbajo’s Appointment Of His Church Members
‘These Are All Yorubas’: Babachir Lawal Reveals Buhari Questioned Osinbajo’s Appointment Of His Church Members He said Buhari feared Osinbajo might, if elected president, adopt what Lawal described as Bola Tinubu’s…
Babachir Lawal served as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) under President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2017, before being removed over corruption allegations tied to an IDP intervention fund. Since leaving office, he has periodically made claims about internal dynamics within the Buhari-Osinbajo administration, including tensions over ethnicity, religion and political trust between the former president and his then vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
According to the accounts given by Sahara Reporters and Legit.ng, Lawal alleges that Buhari held up an appointment memo from Osinbajo for three months, questioning why nominees were Yoruba and linked to Osinbajo's church, and reportedly expressed concern that Osinbajo could, if he became president, extend political patronage along lines similar to those associated with Bola Tinubu. The claims, if accurate, would shed light on long-rumoured friction between Buhari's core camp and Osinbajo's office over appointments and political succession, though neither Buhari nor Osinbajo has publicly responded to these specific allegations, and the timeline, documents or officials involved have not been independently verified.