Among those that contested the primary were the eventual winner President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the then Vice president to Muhammadu Buhari, Yemi Osinbajo, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and former Senate President Ahmad Lawan, among others.
However, prior to the election, speculations were rife that the late President Muhammadu Buhari had endorsed Lawan as the consensus candidate.
Meanwhile, in the new book entitled, “From Soldier to a Statesman, the Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari”, written by Dr Charles Omole, the author recanted what actually transpired.
The book which was launched at the Presidential Villa on Monday had in attendance President Tinubu, the First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, family members and other associates.
The book also chronicled the life of the late President from Daura his home town, his life as a soldier and his sojourn into politics.
He wrote: “A presidency’s character is revealed in the way it treats elections, not in speeches, but in instructions to those who carry guns. The IGP recalls a quiet meeting in the run-up to the 2023 general elections: the National Security Adviser, the Service Chiefs, the Director-General of the State Security Service, and himself were present.
“The President addressed them plainly. He was going to the ruling party’s last caucus meeting and would say, once again, that Nigerians should be allowed to vote for whom they wanted. Their job, he said, was to ensure the security that would make that choice real, and he would provide the funding to do it.”
“Perhaps the most notable episode in the IGP’s account concerns the APC party presidential primaries in Abuja. It is a story more about discipline than about drama, and about a President reluctant to turn the security services into a political weapon.
“On the morning before the primaries, some influential figures, people close to the President approached three security chief officials: the IGP, the Director-General of the DSS, and the DG, NIA. They relayed a presidential “order” to the trio to deploy security forces to install Sen. Lawan as the APC Presidential candidate, as the consensus candidate.
“A meeting was even scheduled, a manoeuvre that relies on proximity to power and the intimidation of uniforms. Alkali Baba refused. He told his colleagues he would not participate. So, the trio decided to seek an urgent audience with the President.”
According to the book “When they were escorted in, the IGP led the way (prompted by the other two) while keeping a professional tone. They informed the President that security for the convention at Eagle Square was arranged. Then, they asked, ‘Is there any other instruction, sir?’ He said none. The expectation that Buhari would repeat the supposed ‘order’ attributed to him did not occur.
“Then, with careful diplomacy, the IGP raised the question that had prompted their emergency meeting. From his residence, he said, he could hear celebrations in the neighbourhood (the IGP lives next door to the official guest house of the Senate President, Sen Lawan) over reports that the President had endorsed Lawan as his candidate.
“The President laughed, and then he made it clear: he had not anointed anyone. He repeated what he had always said – Nigerians should choose. And they must not interfere with the wishes of the party voters.
“Outside the President’s inner office, those who had tried to choreograph the charade were waiting. The IGP told them exactly what had transpired: the President had no candidate. There will be no manipulation from the villa through the security services. The attempted misrepresentation died where it should, at the threshold of a President’s conscience. The DG, SSS, at that time, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, confirmed this story during an interview for this book."
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