President Bola Tinubu has pulled back the curtain on one of the more colourful clashes in Nigeria’s political history, describing a famous disagreement with ex-President Muhammadu Buhari over the symbol of their new party as “he’s so stubborn.”
Tinubu recounted the moment during the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, when Buhari insisted on the parliament symbol while Tinubu favored the broom. The disagreement quickly transformed into a compromise:
“We disagreed to agree… We even argued about a symbol. He insisted on parliament, and I insisted on broom. He’s so stubborn.”
The choice of the broom — now synonymous with APC — signified unity against corruption and helped drive the merger of four opposition parties into a force that would ultimately unseat the long-ruling PDP in the 2015 elections.
Tinubu shared the anecdote with members of The Buhari Organisation at the Presidential Villa, in a gathering brimming with nostalgia and political symbolism, as the APC prepares for its 2027 campaign.
