President Muhammadu Buhari, on
Thursday, shunned former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on his 57th
birthday.
Similarly, Saraki was silent as
the nation’s leader clocked 77 years old earlier on Tuesday.
A reason for this might be
ascribed to events and circumstances before and during Nigeria’s 2019
keenly-contested elections.
The duo
and the arms of government they led from 2015 till 2019 were mostly in the news
for animosity.
It was an open secret that Buhari
and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted Ahmed Lawan
and Femi Gbajabiamila (as against Saraki and Yakubu Dogara who eventually
emerged) as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives,
respectively.
As fate would have it, Lawan from
Yobe and Gbaja, as fondly called, are occupying the exalted positions today.
In 2018, Saraki, despite
surviving alleged attempts by the presidency to impeach him, greeted the
president on his birthday.
He tweeted, “Happy Birthday to
President Muhammadu Buhari and many happy returns”.
In 2017, Buhari felicitated with
the former Kwara State Governor.
In a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, iBuhari commended Saraki for his
commitment to peace of Nigeria.
He said “The President believes
that at 55, and having served as a two-term governor, senator and Senate
President, Dr Saraki has demonstrated commitment in the pursuit of a
prosperous, united and peaceful Nigeria.
“President Buhari prays that God
Almighty will grant him more years of good health, wisdom and fulfillment in
the service of God and country,”
Despite efforts, the relationship
between Buhari and Saraki, who narrated how he donated billions to the party’s
2015 campaign in states, totally crumbled six months to general elections.
It would be recalled that on July
19, 2018, Buhari held a closed door meeting with Saraki as head of aggrieved
members APC members threatening to pull out
The parley, at the instance of
some APC Governors, followed Saraki’s meeting with PDP chieftains a day earlier
in Ilorin.
In what rattled the ruling party,
Saraki dumped the APC with 15 Senators. Most of them, including him, crossed to
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
They were Dino Melaye, Kogi;
Rabiu Kwankwaso, Kano, Lanre Tejuoso, Ogun; Shaaba Lafiagi, Kwara; Rafiu
Ibrahim, Kwara; Barnabas Gemade, Benue; Abdulazeez Nyako, Adamawa.
Others were Monsurat Sunmonu,
Oyo; Usman Nafada, Gombe; Suleiman Hunkuyi, Kaduna; Ibrahim Danbaba, Sokoto;
Ubale Shittu, Jigawa, Isah Misau, Bauchi; Suleiman Nazif, Bauchi.
Additionally, former Speaker
Dogara and a number House members defected.
At many instances afterwards,
Saraki, who vied for the presidential ticket and later emerged as Campaign
Director General to PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar,
attacked the Buhari government.
Currently, the government appears
to be fighting back. Sources confirmed to DAILY POST that the onslaught against
the politics heavyweight is far from over.
In the last two months, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) got forfeiture orders on
Saraki’s house in Ikoyi and Ilorin. They agency is targeting more.
Last year, Saraki and the federal
government, through the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) had a prolonged battle
over some of his assets
After his acquittal by the
Supreme Court, President Buhari hailed Saraki’s resilience during the trial
many critics said he must have endorsed.
He said: “I have seen many
instances where individuals and groups seek the destruction of the judicial
institution in the foolish thinking of saving their skin, instead of going
through the painstaking process of establishing their innocence.
“In the case of the Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, I have seen him take the tortuous path of using the
judicial process. He persevered, and in the end, the highest court of the land,
the Supreme Court, says he is not guilty as charged.
“This is what I have done in the
three elections in which I was cheated out, before God made it possible for me
to come here the fourth time I ran for the office.”
Buhari added that Saraki’s
journey “from the lowest to the highest court of the land provides an important
example for Nigerians to emulate.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com