Why Tinubu-Buhari Talks Failed- Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information Lai Mohammed has disclosed that alliance negotiations between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari collapsed in 2011 due to disagreements over the vice-presidential candidate.

Speaking during an interview with political content creator Edmund Obilo, Mohammed explained that discussions between leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) stalled after Buhari selected Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate.

At the time, Tinubu’s ACN and Buhari’s CPC were among several opposition parties exploring a strategic alliance aimed at challenging the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2011 general election.

Mohammed said the ACN leadership argued that its political strength justified having a say in the choice of a vice-presidential candidate.

“We in ACN argued powerfully that we controlled six states, while CPC controlled only one state,” he said.

He added that ACN leaders were willing to contest under the CPC platform and adopt its party colours but expected a concession in selecting the running mate.

According to him, Buhari’s refusal to reconsider Bakare’s nomination created a decisive rift.

“Our people would accuse us that we had sold them out,” Mohammed explained, noting that the disagreement ultimately forced both camps to abandon the talks.

The failure of the negotiations meant the opposition parties contested separately in the 2011 elections, a move Mohammed said led to heavy losses for both sides.

However, the former minister noted that by 2012 it became increasingly clear to both Tinubu and Buhari that collaboration was essential.

That realisation later contributed to the formation of the All Progressives Congress, which eventually defeated the ruling party in the 2015 presidential election.