Laolu Akande Denies Claims Buhari Found Osinbajo's Bid Immoral
Laolu Akande rejected allegations that former President Muhammadu Buhari viewed Yemi Osinbajo's presidential ambitions as immoral and denied claims of religious bias in office staffing.
Former spokesperson Laolu Akande issued a formal rebuttal against allegations made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal regarding the relationship between former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Lawal claimed that Buhari viewed Osinbajo's 2022 bid for the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket as immoral and distasteful because it challenged Bola Tinubu.
Akande dismissed these claims as fabrications, asserting that Buhari personally offered to support Osinbajo on at least four separate occasions. He stated that Buhari encouraged the ambition and publicly praised Osinbajo's issue-based campaign during a Federal Executive Council meeting.
Akande also denied Lawal's allegations that Osinbajo attempted to staff his office based on religious or ethnic affiliations. Specifically, he rejected the claim that Osinbajo wrote a memo listing over 20 staff names that was subsequently blocked by the president's chief of staff, stating that no such memo existed. Akande described the Office of the Vice President as pan-Nigerian and inclusive, citing the appointment of several Muslim officials in senior roles.
Akande argued that Lawal's claims are driven by a personal vendetta following Lawal's 2017 removal from office by Buhari over alleged corruption.
