A newly launched biography of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari has exposed a dramatic attempt by influential aides to manipulate the 2022 All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential primaries.
Buhari’s former aides were alleged to have forged presidential directives to install ex-Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the APC’s consensus candidate.
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This was disclosed in the book: “From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari,” authored by Dr. Charles Omole and unveiled yesterday at the Presidential Villa.
According to the book, on the eve of the APC primaries, aides close to Buhari allegedly issued “counterfeit orders to top security chiefs, including the Inspector-General of Police (Usman Alkali Baba), the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
“The forged directives instructed the deployment of security forces to ensure Lawan’s emergence as the consensus candidate.”
Former IGP Alkali Baba reportedly “rejected the orders outright, consulted his counterparts, and directly verified with Buhari.
It said: “The late president denied issuing any such instructions, stating he had no preferred candidate and emphasizing that Nigerians should freely choose their leader.”
The book said the late former President laughed upon hearing that celebrations had erupted in Lawan’s neighborhood over the supposed endorsement.
“He made it clear: he had not anointed anyone. Nigerians should choose, and the security agencies must not interfere,” the book quoted sources close to the events.