I Went to Buhari And Said ‘This is Not What the People Expected; He Told Me He Learned His Lesson-Oyegun

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has disclosed that he personally cautioned then-President Muhammadu Buhari early in his administration that the new government was falling short of the expectations Nigerians voted for in 2015.

Speaking on ARISE News on Saturday, February 7, 2026, Oyegun said he sought a private meeting with Buhari barely months after assuming office, alarmed by the direction the government was taking. According to him, the tone and pace of governance did not reflect the promises and energy that defined the APC’s campaign.

“I went to Buhari and told him that this is not what the people are expecting from us,” Oyegun recalled during the interview. “This is not what, from the way we campaigned, they were expecting.”

Oyegun said Buhari’s response surprised him. Rather than embracing the tough, reformist posture many supporters anticipated, the president explained that he was deliberately restraining himself, having “learned his lessons” from past experiences. Buhari, Oyegun recounted, was keen to prove that he was a civilian leader and not the authoritarian figure critics feared.

That explanation, Oyegun said, left him deeply concerned about the future of the administration. In his assessment, the restraint Buhari described translated into a lack of urgency and decisiveness, ultimately paving the way for what he described as “business as usual” under a new political leadership.

The former APC chairman argued that the disconnect between campaign promises and governing reality became clearer as the years went by, reinforcing his early fears. He said subsequent developments proved that the administration failed to meet the public’s high expectations, despite the historic mandate it received.

Oyegun’s remarks form part of a broader reflection on his political journey as he now serves as Chairman of the Policy Manifesto Committee of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). His comments offer rare insight into internal conversations at the highest levels of power following the APC’s landmark 2015 victory and underline the growing reassessment of that period by key figures who helped bring the party to power.

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