Opposition candidates who are banking on inheriting former President Muhammadu Buhari’s famed 12 million votes have been told to look elsewhere as it is not transferable.

A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, who made the declaration while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, maintained that none of the opposition figures possesses the integrity or credentials to inherit it.

Okechukwu, who spoke after an interdenominational church service held in honour of the late president at the National Christian Centre, described Buhari’s legacy as too immense for any current opposition leader to replicate.

“With the greatest respect to prominent politicians jostling to inherit Buhari’s 12 million votes, I must say his shoes are too big for any of them. Buhari’s integrity, transparency, and moral compass are unmatched, and none of these aspirants comes close in terms of public service record or anti-corruption stance,” the former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) stated.

He criticised opposition figures for lacking the kind of personal discipline and incorruptibility that endeared Buhari to millions, especially in northern Nigeria, insisting that many of them have baggage that disqualifies them from being credible heirs.

“None of them has ever waged a genuine war against corruption or run a campaign free of vote-buying. Their public records are littered with controversial dealings, especially in the privatisation of national assets like NEPA, Ajaokuta Steel, and ALSCON,” he alleged.

Okechukwu recounted Buhari’s service spanning five decades, including roles as Governor of the defunct North-East, Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, GOC of three army divisions, Military Head of State, Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), and two-term civilian President — positions he said Buhari held without a stain.

He also dismissed what he called the “Northern Card strategy” by some opposition aspirants who believe they can win support in the north by evoking Buhari’s legacy.

“Those banking on the Northern Card should be reminded that northern voters are some of the most sophisticated in the country. In 1993, they voted massively for MKO Abiola, and in 2023, gave President Tinubu more votes than the South,” he noted.

Okechukwu concluded by warning that trying to ride on Buhari’s legacy without emulating his values is a political mirage.

“Those who crave access to the famed Buhari’s 12million Vote-Bank are consciously pitching the North against the South in a bid to truncate the two-term convention for each region. They should have a rethink, because equity, justice and fairness constitute the bedrock of our democracy.

“At any rate, we have nothing to fear as none of them has either Buhari’s moral compass or discipline and most importantly, they never subscribed to Malam Aminu Kano’s Talakawa (proletarian) tradition to qualify for Northern cult followership.

“Luckily, their Kangaroo bid to railroad majority members of Buhari’s defunct Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) to ADC; failed woefully courtesy of Ex-Governors Tanko Almakura and Aminu Masari.” Okechukwu submitted.

He warned that they should tread softly so as not to scuttle the rotation convention of the Presidency, which has become one of the guardrails of Nigeria’s 4th Republic Democracy and binding chord of the unity of the country.

At the service were members of the Federal Executive Council, the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, his predecessor, Mr. Boss Mustapha, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs.