By Ade Oyeyemi
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has claimed that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari found it difficult to manage political relationships with people from the South-West.
Lawal said Buhari appeared to rely on his relationship with former President Bola Tinubu and a founding chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Bisi Akande, in dealing with Yoruba political interests during his administration.
The former SGF made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Monday.
According to Lawal, although Buhari eventually removed him from office, the former President maintained a personal relationship with him and continued to seek his views on political and other matters.
“Buhari never let me go, he threw me under the bus but we later became okay. He would call me and we will gist, he will ask me what I think about this and that.
“There was still clearly some sort of human relationship. Somehow there is an unwritten relationship between us and Buhari.
“It seems like it’s because of my relationship with Bola and Bisi Akande that he could use me to manage the Yorubas whom he found difficult to manage and of course I tried my best,” Lawal said.
Buhari appointed Lawal as SGF on August 27, 2015, but suspended him in April 2017 following a Senate investigation into contracts awarded under the Presidential Initiative for the North-East.
His suspension followed allegations surrounding the award of contracts under the programme, including a controversial contract popularly referred to as the “grass-cutting” scandal.
The Senate ad hoc committee investigating the matter accused Lawal of abusing his office and awarding contracts to a company in which he allegedly had an interest.
Buhari subsequently terminated Lawal’s appointment on October 30, 2017, and appointed Boss Mustapha as his replacement.
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Lawal and Buhari later reconciled, according to the former SGF, who said the former President continued to contact him despite their earlier political differences.
The former SGF has remained active in Nigerian politics and has, in recent years, spoken on opposition efforts and political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
