Headline:Buhari Rejected N10m Food Budget, Preferred Beans and Pap – Garba Shehu Reveals

Former President Muhammadu Buhari turned down a proposed N10 million food budget at the State House, opting instead for modest meals, his former spokesperson, Garba Shehu, has revealed.

The revelation is contained in Shehu’s new memoir, According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesperson’s Experience, launched in Abuja on Tuesday. The book offers a behind-the-scenes look into Shehu’s eight-year tenure as presidential spokesman under Buhari.

According to him, the food budget, intended to cater to the president, vice president, guests, and official banquets, was rejected by Buhari shortly after he assumed office in 2015.

“When they told him N10 million was needed, he screamed and demanded it be reduced,” Shehu wrote, adding that Buhari questioned the cost, pointing to his own sparse diet. The former president reportedly preferred simple meals like tuwo, akara, beans, pap, and salads, with poultry and mutton forming his primary sources of protein.

Beyond food, Shehu said Buhari also rejected plans to buy five new Mercedes-Benz vehicles worth N400 million, an initiative approved during the final days of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

“What is wrong with the cars left behind?” Buhari reportedly asked, insisting they were sufficient for his use.

He eventually allowed for a vehicle replacement only after one of the old cars broke down en route to the airport.

The book also highlights Buhari’s insistence on cutting operational costs at the Villa and ending reliance on Presidential Intervention Funds. He is said to have mandated strict adherence to approved budgets.

Shehu further explained that Buhari spent his early months in office consulting with heads of agencies and permanent secretaries, which contributed to the delay in appointing ministers—an issue that drew wide criticism at the time.

In another account, during Buhari’s medical leave when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was acting president, some officials reportedly sought access to a security vote through the then Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.

“But Malam Abba told them the president kept no such provision,” Shehu wrote, stressing Buhari’s firm control over public finances.