Nigeria: Tinubu Won 2023 Election Without Buhari's Full Support - APC Campaign Spokesperson

What the report says

Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, said President Bola Tinubu won Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election without full backing from former President Muhammadu Buhari. The remarks were made on Channels Television’s Politics Today in an interview focused on Tinubu’s prospects for a second term in 2027, according to Premium Times as republished by AllAfrica.

Hassan argued that Buhari did not fully campaign for Tinubu during the 2023 race and suggested the APC candidate prevailed despite limited support from his predecessor. He framed Tinubu’s victory as one achieved “against all odds,” while also pushing back on the idea that Buhari’s political structure was decisive in the election.

The report adds context from the 2023 APC primary and general election period. Buhari was widely seen as cautious about backing a preferred successor during the primary process, though he later endorsed the Tinubu-Shettima ticket and said he would support the party’s candidates. Buhari also publicly stated on election day that he had voted for Tinubu. The article notes that other figures, including former SGF Babachir Lawal, have offered different accounts of Buhari’s stance during the primary.

The discussion is significant because it revives questions about internal APC unity, Buhari’s influence within the party, and how that history may shape Tinubu’s political standing ahead of the 2027 election cycle.