Veteran journalist and columnist Sam Omatseye has disclosed that former President Muhammadu Buhari never wanted President Bola Tinubu to succeed him.
Omatseye stated that Buhari and the cabals around him were afraid of Tinubu and, therefore, tried to work against him becoming president in 2023.
Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s podcast State Affairs, which was posted on Tuesday, Omatseye said Buhari and those around him began their plan by removing Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He explained that Oshiomhole was removed as part of an effort to frustrate Tinubu from becoming president.
According to Omatseye: “Buhari and the people around him didn’t want Tinubu because they were afraid of him. Remember that after Buhari became president, within a year, there was an estrangement between Buhari and Tinubu.
“The story went so far as to state that they wanted to remove his pass to the State House. That was the level of the estrangement.
“But again, he (Buhari) knew that if Tinubu did not come to his side, his desire for a second term would be difficult because the structure and genius of Tinubu would demobilize him.
“It was after the second term was guaranteed in an election that they started to plot, and one of the first things they did was to take over the party structure (top brass) from him because they found out that Oshiomhole was his man. If he was the head of the party, it would be difficult.
“Not him alone, some governors didn’t want Asiwaju to still ride high in the party. Of course, the cabal around Buhari didn’t want him. They removed Oshiomhole, and that was the first step.”