A former presidential adviser, Babafemi Ojudu, has dismissed claims that the late President Muhammadu Buhari did not support ex–Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 election.

Ojudu was responding to statements made by Charles Omole, author of From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, which suggested that Buhari withheld support for Osinbajo because President Bola Tinubu was also contesting. Omole reportedly claimed Buhari found it “strange” that Osinbajo would challenge Tinubu, whom he described as the former vice president’s political benefactor.

In contrast, Ojudu said the late president personally encouraged Osinbajo on no fewer than four occasions, assuring him of his support throughout the process. He clarified that Buhari never advised Osinbajo to step aside or subordinate his ambition to any other candidate.

Ojudu added that Buhari explicitly endorsed Osinbajo, stating he was “by far the best person for the job,” and that the former vice president could not have pursued the presidency without such backing.

Criticising Omole’s account, Ojudu warned that documenting Buhari’s presidency without consulting key actors is neither serious scholarship nor history, but “advocacy masquerading as biography.”