Human rights activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju has responded to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha’s claims that Muhammadu Buhari’s 12 million votes were solely responsible for his 2015 presidential victory.
Mustapha made the controversial statement at the unveiling of “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience”, a book written by Buhari’s former spokesman, Garba Shehu. According to him, Buhari’s “existing” 12 million votes were already enough, and the merger of legacy parties contributed only 3 million more.
Adeyanju, however, slammed the statement, calling it a blatant attempt to rewrite history and downplay the role of then All Progressives Congress (APC) leader and current President Bola Tinubu.
“The statement of Boss Mustapha… that Buhari won the 2015 election all by himself because he brought in 12 million votes is beyond delusional,” Adeyanju wrote on X.
“Buhari was a serial loser like Atiku before the coalition happened. The coalition won the 2015 election—not Buhari.”
He argued that Buhari’s victory was made possible by a broad alliance of political actors, including Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and others, as well as a wave of public sentiment against Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
“Almost everyone ganged up against GEJ to help Buhari win… PDP governors who defected, PDP governors who stayed but worked against Jonathan, Barack Obama, and even naive citizens who believed APC would change Nigeria.”
Adeyanju’s remarks add to the growing tension within Nigeria’s political class as efforts to reshape the narrative of the historic 2015 elections continue to spark debates online and offline.