A former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that his appointment by former President, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015 was not by chance but the culmination of years of trust, shared convictions, loyalty, and service.

It was reports that Mohammed, who served in Buhari’s cabinet for almost eight years, made the revelation in his book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration.

The book was presented in Abuja on December 17, 2025, a date chosen to coincide with what would have been Buhari’s 83rd birthday.

Recounting events after Buhari’s inauguration on May 29, 2015, Mohammed noted that it took some time before the former President constituted his cabinet.

However, he said Buhari’s confidence in him was evident early on, as he was personally appointed into the Ahmed Joda-led Transition Committee in April 2015, even after other members had already been named.

The committee was charged with liaising with the outgoing administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, reviewing handover notes and preparing a blueprint for the incoming government.

Mohammed narrated the phone call that culminated in his appointment, describing it as unexpected.

He said, “Hello,’ the voice on the line said. ‘Is this Alhaji Lai Mohammed?’ I answered in the affirmative. ‘Hold on for Mr President,’ the voice said.

“Then another voice, apparently that of the President-elect, came on the line and asked: ‘Lai, where are you?’

“‘Your Excellency, I am in Lagos.’

“‘What are you doing in Lagos?’ he asked.

“‘I live in Lagos, Your Excellency,’ I replied.

“He then went straight to the reason for the call: ‘Are you not coming for the inaugural meeting of the Transition Committee in Abuja tomorrow?’”

According to Mohammed, when he told Buhari he was not a member of the committee, the President-elect simply replied, “‘Ok, Tunde (Sabiu, his longtime personal assistant) will call you,’ and he hung up.”

“Within the hour, I received a call from Tunde, who asked where he should deliver the letter appointing me to the transition committee,” he added.

Mohammed said when the transition committee was first announced without his name, he neither felt slighted nor excluded.

“I was simply happy that the party had won the election,” he stated.

He said the personal appointment marked the beginning of a “cordial and special relationship” with Buhari, which lasted until the former President’s death on July 13, 2025.

The former minister also recalled that shortly before Buhari’s 100th day in office, a close confidant of the President reached out to him to assist the presidential spokesmen ahead of the milestone.

At the time, Buhari had appointed only Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu as his media aides, while ministers were yet to be named.

“I did not need a soothsayer to tell me that the call was a further indication of the President’s confidence in me,” Mohammed wrote.

He added, “The same confidant told me on another occasion that if there was anyone the President was very sure would make his cabinet and whose portfolio he was already sure of, that person was me.”

Mohammed traced his relationship with Buhari to 2012, when he asked, through Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, that Buhari write the foreword to his first book, Witness to History.

“Buhari graciously agreed, wrote the foreword, and attended the book launch,” he said.

Their interaction deepened during the build-up to the 2015 general election, following the merger that formed the All Progressives Congress.

Mohammed, who served as opposition spokesman for the Action Congress of Nigeria and later the APC for over a decade, said he regularly attended meetings with Buhari in Kaduna alongside President Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande.

“These meetings usually held on Mondays and Thursdays,” he recalled.

According to Mohammed, those long-standing engagements, built on mutual respect and shared political ideals, laid the foundation for the confidence Buhari later reposed in him.

“Serving in Buhari’s administration for nearly eight years allowed me to witness firsthand the former President’s dedication to discipline, integrity and national service, values that guided my own conduct in office,” he said.

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The Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has reportedly held a secret meeting with his political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, amid moves to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Daily Nigerian, the closed-door meeting took place late Tuesday night at Kwankwaso’s Miller Road residence in Kano.

Sources said Yusuf arrived around midnight in a private vehicle, accompanied by a political intermediary identified as Sarkin Gobir, and the meeting reportedly lasted for over an hour.

Multiple sources disclosed that the governor’s visit was aimed at making a final attempt to persuade Kwankwaso to join him in the APC, allegedly at the directive of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

However, indications suggest that the effort was unsuccessful, as Kwankwaso remained firm in his position.

A day after the meeting, Kwankwaso appeared to publicly dismiss the overtures while addressing supporters at his residence.

“First, we know that betrayal is not good. Everybody knows how that party is losing the sympathy of the people, especially with regards to insecurity and the economy,” he said.

“People used to say in Nigeria that everyone has a price tag. If you are looking for who has no price tag, come to Rabiu Kwankwaso,” he added.

Sources said Yusuf’s defection plan has encountered stiff resistance at the grassroots level, despite growing defections by NNPP lawmakers at both state and federal levels, as well as some local government chairmen.

According to insiders, the majority of NNPP supporters in Kano have remained loyal to Kwankwaso, triggering concern among APC power brokers.

“APC leaders are keenly observing what is happening in Kano. The Kwankwasiyya supporters have made a bold statement that they are with Kwankwaso,” a source said.

“If Abba joins APC, Kwankwaso’s candidate may likely benefit from sympathy votes,” the source added.

Following the Kano meeting, Yusuf reportedly travelled to France on Friday to meet President Tinubu, where he is expected to brief him on the outcome of his discussion with Kwankwaso and outline the next political steps.

Sources said the President remains keen on having Kwankwaso join the APC, prompting continued last-minute pressure.

“The people’s reaction in Kano is the reason for the renewed push to convince Kwankwaso,” an insider told Daily Nigerian.

Meanwhile, top APC figures in Kano, including former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, and the state party chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, have returned to Nigeria after end-of-year holidays and Umrah.

Other party heavyweights, including Nasiru Gawuna and Murtala Garo, are also back in the country ahead of the expected political realignment.

Sources said Governor Yusuf is expected to announce his defection after concluding consultations with APC leaders.

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Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has called on Nigerians, especially those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, to move beyond commenting on social media and take a more active role in the country’s political landscape.

In a post on X on Saturday, Sani encouraged Nigerians in the middle age to stop limiting themselves to online debates while younger politicians occupy elective offices.

He said surveys suggesting that Nigerian youths were more active on social media than in politics are not helpful, emphasising that true political engagement goes far beyond ‘likes, shares, and comments’ on social media.

Sani also encouraged aspiring politicians not to be discouraged by financial constraints, noting that many current officeholders faced significant challenges in their early political journeys.

“You are in your 30s, 40s or 50s, your Rep member is in his 30s and your House of Assembly member and Local Government Chairman are in their 20s. Excuse yourself from their comment section on Facebook, X and Instagram; register as a member of a political party and aspire to contest and give your people the kind of leadership you think they deserve. The recent survey that suggests that Nigerian youths are more on social media than in politics is not helpful. Don’t be discouraged or scared because ‘you don’t have money’ to join politics. You need to hear the story of most of those you see in power today; it wasn’t an easy ride from the beginning. If they can be, so you can,” Sani wrote.

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