investors, and some ex-Ministers in the administration of former President
Goodluck Jonathan , caused Dr. Bukola Saraki and Mr. Yakubu Dogara to
emerge as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives
respectively.
The plots that led to their emergence were hatched in Port Harcourt, Lagos,
Abeokuta, Abuja and Ogun State by four serving governors and seven ex-
governors in what was mainly as a bid to “decimate APC National Leader,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”
Two of the serving governors are from the South-West and one from the
North-West, while two of the ex-governors are from the South-West, three
from the North-West, one from the North-East and one from the South-South
zone. An influential Emir was also involved in the anti-Tinubu campaign,
according to sources. The monarch had first sought Tinubu’s support for
Saraki’s bid in a move he described as “politically strategic” for the future of
Nigeria.
Sources said that although Saraki had aspired to lead the Senate as a “mere
political game which anyone could win,” the contest attracted vested
interests because of the anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu
Buhari. Some oil barons, especially those indicted in the subsidy scandal,
high-net worth investors, and top businessmen were said to have found it
difficult to reach out to Buhari.
They decided to form a ring around the new President by hijacking the
National Assembly through which they believe they could checkmate and
frustrate any anti-Jonathan policies initiated by the Buhari government.
It was learnt that the affected businessmen, some of whom benefited from
curious waivers, concessions and unmerited subsidy funds, had reached out
to Tinubu to assist them to appeal to Buhari for soft-landing on ongoing
investigations but the ex-Lagos State Governor declined to intervene.
One of those whose investment was linked with the missing $20billion oil
cash personally begged Tinubu who “insisted” that any financial infraction
must be punished.
The high-class businessmen were said to have suddenly found allies in four
serving governors, seven ex-governors who allegedly have a political axe to
grind with Tinubu. With the support of a top APC leader eyeing the
presidency in 2019, it was agreed by the amalgam of forces to “cut Tinubu to
size” by taking over the National Assembly.
The plot of the aggrieved businessmen was buoyed by the fact that the ‘New
PDP’ elements in APC felt “sidelined” in the scheme of things by not getting
any of the top posts. Three highly-placed sources gave a rare insight into the
intrigues behind the election of Saraki as Senate President and Dogara as
House Speaker.
A former governor said: “The coup against APC in the Senate assumed a
magnitude which Saraki and Dogara did not imagine. What appeared as a
mere aspiration turned into hi-wire politics and business intrigues. These
aspirants did not expect that the race for Senate Presidency and House
Speakership would turn into a big project that would threaten the fabric of
the APC.”
A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the APC admitted that some
serving governors and former governors in the new governing party
participated actively in the plot. The BOT member said it was shocking that
those initially thought to be Tinubu’s loyalists were among the aggrieved
APC governors and ex-governors.
The source added: “Little did the undiscerning observers of the power play
know that some of the APC leaders, especially those who have succeeded in
forming a ring around President Muhammadu Buhari, were a party to the
plot. They have since been shedding crocodile tears to give an impression of
their commitment to the party’s tenets. They did not only support Saraki
and Dogara against the candidates of their party, they went as far as
participating in the wooing of PDP Senators who rallied against their
candidates.”
At the outset, Tinubu supported the candidacy of Senator George Akume from
the same North-Central geopolitical zone with Saraki as the Senate
President. Akume is a known friend of Tinubu and the president did not hide
his preference for Lawan.
However, Tinubu had to withdraw his support for George Akume when
presidential preference became obvious and it was made clear that the
Northeast, particularly Borno and Yobe should be rewarded having been
marginalized by past governments apparently because of the states’ solid
support for the opposition. It was at this point that Tinubu shifted support to
Lawan.
However, it became a moral burden for Tinubu to communicate the new
decision to his friend. But he eventually did and encouraged him to step
down for Lawan. Akume then agreed to take the Deputy Senate President
slot.
Initially, he turned down the offer, believing it was the turn of the North-
Central to be the Senate President, but later felt he had no option than to
accept it. He said there was no need to rock the boat of the party or tamper
with the peace of the fledgling administration.
Curiously, but true, certain elements in APC resolved to work against the
interest of, not only their leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, but also that of President
Buhari. They chose three musketeers to coordinate the project which will
demystify their leader. These beneficiaries of Tinubu political goodwill held
clandestine meetings on different occasions on how to outsmart both their
master and the president, while giving maximum support to the candidacy of
Saraki.
“Part of their strategy was to invite some of the moneybags with financial
baggage, who would want to curry the president’s favour to escape
investigations, dis-empower Tinubu by circulating negative stories about him
and thus cause disaffection between him, Buhari and some other leaders in
the APC.
“They also asked the president to live up to his words of ‘belonging to
everyone and belonging to no one’ as a way of further boosting his soaring
democratic credentials. They were also able to frame up Senator Lawan, who
has been in the Senate since 2007, as a marked boy in the upper chamber.
“At one of the meetings held on Thursday June 4, 2015, these three
musketeers and APC accomplices were said to have invited the businessmen
to sell the Saraki candidacy to them, with an assurance that there would be
a shield for any probe against them.
“Well, these business and financial moguls with vast interests in fast moving
consumer goods, the downstream sector, banking and hospitality industry
had no option than to key into the plan.
“ Consequently, the three musketeers expanded their frontier, sought and got
support from some members of the National Working Committee to further
give ‘credibility’ to their action as well as convince the president of the need
to stay away from Tinubu, who according to them, was becoming
overbearing within the party.”
A PDP chieftain spoke extensively on how his party negotiated and benefited
from the coup against APC.
He said: “Capitalizing on his past influence in the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and the dwindling fortunes of the party of late, Saraki and some
members of the ‘New PDP’ caucus employed a former South-South governor
who helped to perfect the strategy of winning other PDP Senators over for his
candidacy in exchange for choice position compensations. Saraki also
brought in a South-West state governor with a promise of soft-landing.
“Having been sold the possibility of negotiating with the pro-Saraki elements,
the PDP elected senators saw it as an opportunity to get their pound of flesh
from the APC. They also felt they could position themselves for juicy Senate
committees. With 49 Senators, they resolved to demand for the concession of
the office of the Deputy President of the Senate for PDP. They said once the
slot was given to PDP, it would go to the South-East
“A former top official of the Senate was then saddled with the job of getting
his colleagues together for a “retreat’ in Port Harcourt, where they did not
only discuss the modalities of decimating the APC Senators but how to
hijack the Senate
“The strategy included inviting some of those involved in the fuel subsidy
fraud to back them financially with a promise to ensure that President Buhari
would not be able to pursue their matter. The financiers were assured that no
such probe would see the light of day because some forces around the
president were also with them in the game.”
The Port Harcourt meeting resolved that in order to ward off any suspicion,
they would continue to discuss with Tinubu and other APC NWC members,
selling them a dummy that PDP Senators would support the APC candidates
for both Senate and House of Reps in order to ensure a peaceful reign in both
houses.
The mafia fell for the proposition and supported the execution of the Saraki-
for-Senate-President project. The expensive presidential suite on the 10th
floor of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja was the coordination base.
“And in order to make it appear that their party was carried along in the
scheming, the PDP Senators briefed a former Chairman, Board of Trustees of
PDP and enlisted his and the entire party’s support for them to go along with
the Saraki team.
“The ex-BOT chairman, however, advised PDP senators to meet the Sunday
night before the election to put the matter to vote in order not to betray one
another. Of course the idea received a unanimous voting both as a result of
anti-Tinubu agenda and the joy of watching the ego of the APC deflated on
Tuesday.
“When Tinubu learnt of the Port Harcourt meeting and all that transpired, he
met with the former official of the Senate who dismissed the plot as a mere
rumour and that APC should take the promise of the PDP Senators to the
bank. Well, they did and the rest is now history.”
Sources said last night that Buhari had “uncovered” the plot and was
weighing his options.
A presidency source added: “This discovery made one of the spokesmen of
the President to come out strongly against the ‘coup’. The spokesman was
able to give the mindset of the President about what transpired. What
happened embarrassed Buhari and he has been trying to intervene to broker
peace and ensure reconciliation.”
The source further said that the President is determined to implement his
reform agenda, bring to book all those who soiled their hands in the last
dispensation.
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