Former presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu has disclosed how he and other allies persuaded President Bola Tinubu to turn down an offer to become Minister of Finance under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Ojudu revealed this during a recent appearance on the State Affairs podcast hosted by Edmund Obilo that accepting the role would have carried significant political risks for Tinubu, who was then the leader of the Action Congress.

He recounted, “Tinubu called me one day and said, ‘Congratulations to me.’ I asked, ‘Congratulations for what?’ He then told me that former President Yar’Adua had called him to join his government of unity as Minister of Finance.

“I said, ‘You are in Action Congress. Are you not a student of history? Do you not see what happened to Bola Ige? You are digging your political grave if you accept that type of job,’” he stated.

Ojudu added that Rauf Aregbesola, a close ally of Tinubu and former governor of Osun State, joined the conversation and supported his stance.

He added, “Rauf walked in and said, ‘Femi is right; that is not a job to take.

“One businessman walked in and said, ‘You guys are too radical. This thing will benefit everyone.’ But I insisted, ‘No, we are not looking for this type of benefit. We are looking for his political survival.

“He is our leader. Our dream for him is bigger than him becoming a minister in Yar’Adua’s government. Nine months down the line, they would arrest him, try him, and finish him off—the way they did to Bola Ige.”

Ojudu addressed accusations of betrayal in the 2023 election, where he backed Osinbajo over Tinubu, stating that their differences were based on vision, not personal matters.

He said, “We cannot quarrel. It is about our vision taking different routes. I just came from Bayo Onanuga’s daughter’s wedding. People saw me and said, We never knew you would come around.