Malam Garba Shehu, former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed claims that he betrayed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by choosing to work for Buhari.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday during a media briefing to announce his upcoming memoir, “According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience”, which is set to be officially launched on July 9, Shehu addressed the long-standing insinuations.
He clarified that his decision to serve Buhari was not an act of disloyalty to Atiku, under whom he had previously worked. Shehu, a former president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), explained that in 2014, after Buhari emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), all other aspirants — including Atiku — handed over their campaign structures to support Buhari’s candidacy.
According to him, it was on the strength of that unity and support that he was appointed as the spokesperson for Buhari’s presidential campaign council. Following Buhari’s victory in the general election, Shehu was then appointed as his official spokesperson in government.
