Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, says the 2013 merger that led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured the “important votes” that helped former President Muhammadu Buhari win the 2015 presidential election.
During an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, Onanuga responded to comments made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who claimed that the APC merger added only three million votes to Buhari’s tally in the 2015 election.
The merger brought together the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).
Mustapha argued that Buhari had consistently polled over 12 million votes even before the merger, suggesting those votes formed the majority of the 15.4 million he received to defeat ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
But Onanuga contended that despite those numbers, Buhari lacked sufficient presence in the south and required the support of the ACN to achieve the necessary electoral “spread.”
He noted that the ACN delivered the “important votes” Buhari needed from the southern region.
“It was clear to ACN, a very strategic arm of that alliance, that without additional support, there was no way Buhari could have won the election,” Onanuga stated.
“Yeah, he was getting 12 million votes if you put all the 19 states together, but in the south, Buhari was nowhere. Buhari needed the spread. ACN had six.
“Buhari got the votes he needed in those six states. They may not be in millions, but there were important votes.
“He won in all those six states, and he got more than 25 percent. At the end of the day, he won in about 25 states, more than the constitutional requirement of 24 states.”
Onanuga also said Buhari “never forgot the help that Tinubu rendered to him” and maintained that without Tinubu’s contribution, Buhari would not have become president.
