Akande, the former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari personally offered to support Osinbajo’s 2022 presidential bid on at least four separate occasions. Akande made the clarification in a detailed statement issued on Saturday, October 17, 2026, in response to recent allegations made by Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Lawal had claimed in a broadcast interview that former President Buhari considered Osinbajo’s presidential run “immoral and distasteful.” Dismissing Lawal’s assertions as “pure fiction” and entirely baseless, Akande noted that he was directly involved in the administrative and political affairs of the Vice President’s office throughout both terms and witnessed the discussions firsthand. According to Akande, Buhari personally broached the subject of the presidency with Osinbajo on four distinct occasions ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections in 2022.
On one of those occasions, Buhari reassuringly asked Osinbajo, “If I don’t support you, who will I support?” Akande recalled that during the build-up to the June 2022 APC presidential primaries, President Buhari openly commended Vice President Osinbajo during a Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari praised Osinbajo in a laudatory tone before the entire cabinet for running a dignified, issues-based campaign across the country.
Akande also dismissed claims by Babachir Lawal that Osinbajo submitted an ethnically and religiously biased appointment memo that was allegedly delayed for three months. Akande explained that Osinbajo maintained a direct working relationship with Buhari, submitting memos directly to the President before sending approved copies to Ade Ipaye, the Chief of Staff to the Vice President, for administrative execution. He added that Lawal had already been removed from office by President Buhari for corrupt practices before many of the cited appointments were even finalised.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo officially declared his intention to contest the presidency in April 2022. During the APC Special National Convention held in June 2022 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, Osinbajo finished third in the primary contest with 235 votes, behind Rotimi Amaechi (316 votes) and the eventual winner and current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1,271 votes).
Akande maintained that history must be accurately preserved, emphasizing that former President Buhari repeatedly encouraged, applauded, and offered his backing to Osinbajo rather than opposing his ambition.
