Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the primary architect of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) 2015 electoral success, crediting instead the political influence of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on Wednesday during the public presentation of According to The President: Lessons From A Presidential Spokesman Experience — a book authored by former presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu — Mustapha offered a pointed counter-narrative to popular accounts of APC’s formation and rise to power.
While acknowledging the role of coalition-building, Mustapha asserted that Buhari’s popularity and the grassroots support base of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) were decisive in unseating the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“At the time of the APC’s formation, CPC only controlled one state,” Mustapha said. “But the most critical votes that led to our victory came from Buhari’s loyal base. We know the work we put in to make his presidency happen.”
The APC was formed in 2013 through a merger of several political groups, including the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and elements from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Tinubu, a key figure from the ACN bloc, has often been credited with leading the coalition that brought the APC to power.
However, Mustapha pushed back against that version of events, emphasizing that Buhari, not Tinubu, served as the unifying figure around whom the APC coalesced.
His remarks come amid ongoing debates over the contributions of various actors in the formation of the ruling party and its historic 2015 win — a watershed moment that ended 16 years of PDP leadership at the federal level.