Buhari never said he’d hand over to me – Tunde Bakare

Tunde Bakare, serving overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, has disclosed that there was no written agreement that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari would hand over power to him in 2015.

Tribune Online reports that former President died on Sunday at a clinic in London at the age of 82 years after prolonged illness.

Bakare was Buhari’s running mate in the 2011 presidential election under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though they lost. Buhari later became Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023, after previously leading the country as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985.

In 2019, Bakare had hinted at a possible succession, referring to Buhari as the 15th president and implying he could be next. He also spoke at the time about building a global political network to support future ambitions.

In January 2018, he had declared that his involvement in politics was not over. He later contested for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2022 but did not win.

Speaking on Monday during an interview with Channels Television, Bakare said Buhari did not promise to make him his successor, nor was any such deal ever documented.

“There was no written pact between us. He is late. I will never say anything unfair about him,” Bakare said.

According to him, Buhari did his best as president. “One night before the primary, he invited all the presidential aspirants. We sat with him in the conference hall of the villa.”

“He said, ‘I have allowed the governors to choose who will succeed them or to go for a second term if they are going for a second term. I am asking you today to allow me to also freely choose the person I desire to succeed me.’”

Bakare said others at the meeting accepted Buhari’s position, including former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Jigawa State Governor Mohammed Badaru; and former Minister of Science and Technology Ogbonnaya Onu.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE