Femi Adesina, former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, says Bukola Saraki, the former Senate President, plotted with some members of the National Assembly (NASS) to seize leadership in 2015.
According to him, Saraki plotted with former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and ex-Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
He disclosed this in his book “Working with Buhari: Reflections Of A Special Adviser, Media And Publicity (2015 – 2023).”
Adesina said Saraki worked with lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to get the necessary figures because most All Progressives Congress (APC) senators, were not with him.
Buhari, he disclosed, was unhappy with Saraki and Dogara’s emergence as leaders of the National Assembly.
“Unknown to the party leadership, Senator Bukola Saraki, a former Kwara State Governor, and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, from Bauchi State, had plotted to seize the leadership of the National Assembly.
“To get the necessary figures, Saraki was in league with the PDP, his former party, as a significant number of APC senators were not with him.
“We were in the President’s living room at Aso Drive, preparatory to driving to the International Conference Centre (ICC) for the meeting with APC legislators, when we saw on television that the Senate had already been convened, and election was in progress.
“The requisite constitutionally required number had been made up by renegade APC members and the PDP,” he wrote.
“Before we knew it, the Clerk was swearing in Saraki as Senate President. One after the other, APC leaders began to congregate in the living room of the President. Chief Bisi Akande, the first Interim National Chairman was there.
“Chief John Odigie Oyegun, former Edo State Governor and incumbent National Chairman was there, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the party came in, National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, many loyal lawmakers, and others were also there, along with the President.
“With Saraki having been sworn in, and Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP senator, inaugurated as his deputy, it was Asiwaju Tinubu who said there was no need crying over spilt milk, and that they should see what they could do to ensure that the leadership of the House of Representatives did not also slip out of their hands.
“They mapped out strategies, gave responsibilities, and it was action stations. They filed out, and only a few people, and we the aides, remained with the President, who was obviously unhappy with the perfidy playing out.
“But it was too little and too late. Yakubu Dogara had emerged, with Yusuf Sulaimon Lasun, a lawmaker from Osun State, also APC, as his Deputy,” he added.
“I stated my case on why we needed to issue a statement on the new National Assembly leadership, and that the whole country would be waiting for his position.
“Waving his index finger (I could not but help noticing how long the finger was), he said he would not say a word.
“I said he should, reminding him he had promised to work with whoever emerged, and that political adversaries would term him dictatorial, if he did not say anything.
“And he should not forget that the process was constitutional. He gave it a thought. He told me to draft a statement and let him see.
“Carefully choosing my words, I wrote that President Buhari had noted what happened at the National Assembly earlier in the day, and though contrary to the position of the APC, a constitutional process had been concluded, and he would work with the elected leadership.
“He read it through and took a pen from his breast pocket. Where I wrote that a constitutional process had been concluded, he inserted the word ‘somewhat.’ It now read; “constitutional process has been somewhat concluded.”
“He directed that the statement be issued,” Adesina detailed.
The former aide furthered that the national assembly leadership saga was his first baptism of fire in terms of issuing statements for Buhari, adding that many more followed for a period of eight years.
