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Last Tuesday elections of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu
Dogara as Speaker of the House of Reps tipped in their favour on account
of the intervention of top businessmen, high-profile investors, and
some ex-Ministers in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, sources
revealed.
The plots were hatched in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abeokuta, Abuja and Ilishan, Ogun State by four serving governors and seven ex-governors in what a source described as a bid to “decimate APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”
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.
Although Saraki had aspired to lead the Senate as a “mere political game which anyone could win,” but the contest attracted vested interests to fight the anti-corruption agenda of President 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 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 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 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 George Akume from the North-Central zone. 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.
It was 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 be Deputy Senate President.
“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.”
In fact, Buhari had now “uncovered” the plot and was weighing his options and take some serious actions.
The plots were hatched in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abeokuta, Abuja and Ilishan, Ogun State by four serving governors and seven ex-governors in what a source described 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.
Although Saraki had aspired to lead the Senate as a “mere political game which anyone could win,” but the contest attracted vested interests to fight the anti-corruption agenda of President Buhari.
They decided to form a ring around the new President by hijacking the National Assembly through which they believe they could 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 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 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 George Akume from the North-Central zone. 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.
It was 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 be Deputy Senate President.
“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.”
In fact, Buhari had now “uncovered” the plot and was weighing his options and take some serious actions.
