Shehu: Buhari Set Rare Presidential Standard by Making Osinbajo Acting President

Garba Shehu, former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has highlighted a major governance milestone achieved by his former principal—one he says distinguishes Buhari from past Nigerian presidents. In his newly published memoir, According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience, launched in Abuja, Shehu credits Buhari with setting a new democratic standard by willingly transferring executive authority to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during periods of medical absence.

Shehu, in Chapter 6 of the book, titled “The Muhammadu Buhari Persona,” emphasizes that unlike his predecessors, Buhari upheld constitutional provisions by officially notifying the Senate and empowering his deputy in line with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution. This decision, he wrote, allowed Osinbajo to serve as acting president, sign executive orders, approve legislation, swear in ministers, and even appoint a Chief Justice.

The book contrasts Buhari’s actions with those of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who, according to Shehu, avoided delegating power to their deputies. Obasanjo, he claims, gradually stripped Vice President Atiku Abubakar of influence and authority, while Yar’Adua’s prolonged illness left Vice President Goodluck Jonathan sidelined until a national outcry and the National Assembly’s invocation of the Doctrine of Necessity forced a transfer of power.

Even under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Shehu notes, Vice President Namadi Sambo was never made acting president, though that may have been due to Jonathan’s consistent good health. However, Buhari’s move to hand over power during his absences marked a constitutional and leadership shift rarely seen in Nigeria’s democratic history.