List of APC, Tinubu's Recent Events That Buhari Did Not Attend and Why

Published 5 hours ago• 3 minute read

President Bola Tinubu and the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari have often described themselves as political friends. Tinubu has been publicly credited with being a major contributor to Buhari's emergence as president in 2015 after their alliance that led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Leaving office on May 29, 2023, Buhari handed over to Tinubu, who not only took over the leadership of governance in Nigeria but also took control of the APC leadership. However, the APC under Tinubu has been said to have sidelined some factions of the party.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has not been attending most of the events hold by President Bola Tinubu and the APC. — All APC and President Bola Tinubu, that former President Muhammadu Buhari did not attend Photo Credit: @officialABAT, @MBuhari
Source: Twitter

While Tinubu and Buhari have consistently maintained that there was no rift between them and reiterated their loyalty to the APC, the former vice president has been conspicuously absent from some of his party events or gatherings where his successor will be present.

Some of the events are listed below:

President Bola Tinubu and all his predecessors were present at the book launch of the former military president, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, in Abuja on February 20, 2025, except Buhari. Rather, the former president was represented by his former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, who also doubled as a reviewer of the book.

Speaking on Buhari's absent at the event, Jonathan Vatsa, an APC chieftain from Niger state, explained that the former president was absent because of his lingering resentment over the 1985 coup that removed him from power.

The former president and his vice were conspicuously absent at the maiden National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC, which was held at the party's national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, February 26.

Speaking on Buhari's absence, his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said that his boss got the invitation late and therefore could not attend as a result of other matters before him.

President Tinubu visited Katsina, the home state of the immediate past President Buhari, on a two-day official visit on Friday, May 2.

During the visit, the president commended the hospitality given to him during the visit; however, he said he missed Buhari's attendance during his visit to his state, adding that he wished his predecessor well.

Here is the video of his speech:

Like other events, the former president was conspicuously absent at the APC summit, which was held in Abuja on Thursday, May 22. No obvious reason was given for Buhari's absence at the event.

At the event, the APC governors under the umbrella of the Progressive Governors Forum endorsed President Tinubu's second term re-election bid. He was also endorsed by the leadership of the National Assembly.

Buhari tendered his regrets over his inability to attend the grand finale of the Qur’anic recitation competition organised in memory of Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji Tinubu, the late mother of President Tinubu.

The event, a significant Islamic gathering scheduled for Saturday, May 31, 2025, was convened by Senator Basheer Lado, CON, and expected to draw high-profile personalities from across Nigeria.