Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has returned to the good graces of President Bola Tinubu’s loyalists, even if only briefly.
The President’s men are celebrating Osinbajo for doing justice to Tinubu’s role in the June 12 saga during the launch of the memoir of former military head of state, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB).
Babangida, who annulled the June 12 presidential election—dubbed Nigeria’s freest and fairest—launched his autobiography, A Journey in Service, and his presidential library on Thursday, February 20, 2025, in Abuja.
President Tinubu was a special guest of honor at the event, which attracted the powers that be across different spheres of life.
“He was detained, charged to court, and escaped into exile. Today, he is also here to celebrate with his former tormentors,” Osinbajo, one of the attendees, pointed out, highlighting Tinubu’s fight against the injustice of military regimes, including that of Babangida, who annulled a landmark election.
Osinbajo’s capture of Tinubu’s role in the return of democracy turned out to be heartwarming for the President’s men.
The development earned him praise from those who had repeatedly slammed him for going all out against Tinubu in the battle for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket for the 2023 election.
Osinbajo, whom Tinubu claimed to have nominated as vice president to former President Muhammadu Buhari (2015–2023), refused to back down for Tinubu in the race that determined the APC’s candidate for the election that brought the incumbent president to power.
Tinubu won the APC presidential primary election in June 2022 by securing 1,271 votes, while Osinbajo came a distant third with 235 votes, behind Rotimi Amaechi in second place with 316 votes.
Tinubu’s men turned on Osinbajo for going all out against his mentor, especially when he did not actively campaign for Tinubu as the party’s candidate in the 2023 election.
They had turned their backs on the former vice president until his utterances at the launch of IBB’s memoir and presidential library warmed their hearts, prompting them to celebrate him once again.
Sola Onamodu
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