Malam Garba Shehu, spokesman to the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, has said that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s harsh posthumous verdict on Buhari was rooted in personal resentment.
Obasanjo had recently described Buhari’s 2015–2023 administration as the “worst civil government” Nigeria ever experienced. But reacting to the assessment, Shehu insisted the rift between the two leaders was not ideological, but hinged on an unmet demand.
In his book According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience, Shehu alleged that Obasanjo had asked Buhari to award the Mambilla Power Project to a contractor of his choice. According to him, Buhari declined and insisted the project must follow due process.
“There are many around Buhari who hold that the spectacular falling out between him and his superior in the military, whom he much respected, was on account of that demand,” Shehu wrote.
He maintained that despite their differences, Buhari continued to hold Obasanjo in high regard until his death.
