Former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Malam Garba Shehu, has dismissed suggestions that he betrayed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by switching loyalty to Buhari ahead of the 2015 elections.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during a media briefing ahead of the launch of his memoir “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience”, slated for public presentation on July 9, Shehu set the record straight on his political alignment.
According to the veteran journalist and former president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), his decision to work for Buhari was not an act of disloyalty to Atiku, but a reflection of consensus within the APC at the time.
“All those who contested the APC presidential primary with Buhari in 2014 — including Atiku Abubakar — donated their campaign assets to him after he emerged as the party’s flagbearer,” Shehu explained. “It was on this basis that I was appointed spokesperson of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Council and later retained as spokesperson to the President after he won the general election.”
The former presidential aide emphasized that the narrative suggesting he abandoned Atiku was misleading and lacked context. He reiterated that the 2014 APC political landscape was marked by unity and collective sacrifice in the bid to defeat the then-incumbent PDP government.
Shehu's memoir, which chronicles his years serving as the public voice of the Buhari presidency, promises behind-the-scenes insights and lessons drawn from nearly a decade of presidential communication and crisis management.
The memoir is expected to be officially launched in Abuja on July 9 and will feature contributions and appearances from key political and media figures.
