A former spokesman to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has dismissed recent claims by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, that former President Muhammadu Buhari considered Osinbajo’s 2022 presidential ambition “immoral.”
Akande, in a statement issued on Saturday, October 17, 2026, described Lawal’s allegations as “fabrications,” saying Buhari repeatedly encouraged Osinbajo to contest for the presidency and even offered to support him.
Akande said: “I have watched the video in which former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, made a string of allegations against former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
“Ordinarily, such fabrications would not deserve a response. But I served as the Vice President’s spokesperson. I was in the room where many of these decisions were taken.”
Rejecting Lawal’s claim that Buhari disapproved of Osinbajo’s presidential aspiration, Akande said: “This is false.
“On at least four separate occasions, President Buhari personally offered to support the Vice President, telling him plainly: ‘If I don’t support you, who will I support?’”
He further recalled that during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries, Buhari publicly commended Osinbajo during a Federal Executive Council meeting for conducting an issue-based campaign.
Akande said: “He was consistent. During the APC presidential primaries in 2022, while campaigns were underway, President Buhari openly commended Vice President Osinbajo at a Federal Executive Council meeting for the dignified, issues-based manner in which he was conducting his campaign across the country.
“That is not a President who found Osinbajo’s ambition distasteful. That is a President who broached it, encouraged and applauded it.”
Akande also dismissed claims that Osinbajo submitted a memo containing more than 20 names of prospective aides which was allegedly blocked by Buhari’s Chief of Staff before Lawal intervened.
He described the allegation as “a complete fabrication,” saying: “There was no such memo.
“The procedure was simple and verifiable: Prof. Osinbajo always had direct access to the President. He took his memos directly to the President, obtained approval, and passed the approved memo to his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ade Ipaye, who communicated it to the relevant agencies.”
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He added that Lawal’s timeline was inaccurate, noting that many members of Osinbajo’s staff resumed duty in June 2015.
“There was no three-month delay. To those of us who were there, this story is pure fiction,” he said.
Akande stressed that different batches of appointment memos were submitted as the Office of the Vice President was being established.
“What actually happened in 2015 is that Osinbajo took different batches of memos to the President at different times for different categories of staff as the office was being set up. That is standard practice,” Akande noted.
He urged the public to rely on verifiable facts rather than what he described as false narratives aimed at tarnishing Osinbajo’s record.
“Prof. Osinbajo served President Buhari loyally for eight years, without blemish, with an inclusive team that reflected the best of Nigeria. The records are there for anyone who cares to check,” Akande said.
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