…Re-ignites claim that Obi won 2023, not Tinubu
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has launched a blistering attack on President Bola Tinubu while unveiling a new northern political platform to shape the 2027 presidential race.
Lawal, speaking in a televised interview on Monday, said prominent northern politicians outside government have formed the Nigerian People’s Consultative Political Forum (North) to end regional disunity and vote as a bloc. He vowed the group would back only a candidate — northern, southern or “even from heaven” — who truly grasps the North’s problems.
“We must vote as a bloc. If we don’t, we will not achieve our goals. Whoever we support in 2027 must understand the problems facing the North”, he stressed.
Lawal, an influential figure in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the group has agreed that the ADC is the only viable party for their mission.
But the former SGF used the platform to renew his explosive claim that Tinubu did not win the 2023 election — insisting Labour Party’s Peter Obi was the “true winner”, based on data his team collected from polling units.
“The result available to me showed Tinubu didn’t win. We monitored the election, collected data and tracked results. Some were altered”, Lawal alleged.
He accused Tinubu of arrogance and nepotism, claiming his government is dominated by Yoruba appointees. “I cannot attend a meeting where 99 percent are Yoruba and finish in their language. The problem with the Yoruba is that when you support them and they win, they behave as if they have subdued you”, he said.
Lawal dismissed suggestions he could have served under Tinubu, saying: “If I were in this government, I’d have been sacked, killed, or resigned”.
He also attacked Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the fuel subsidy removal, alleging subsidies are still being secretly paid despite the hardship Nigerians face from inflation.
While reiterating that Obi won in 2023, Lawal hinted he may not support him in 2027, stressing that “the parameters used in 2023” will change as the North recalibrates its political strategy.
