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Thursday, March 28, 2024

#SoundOff: Buhari’s Grudge With Saraki Is 32 Years Old

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by Isaiah Umeoranefo

Late Chief Dr Olusola Saraki (MBBS), the father of the current Nigerian Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was a one time Senate leader In the 2nd Republic Senate between 1979-1983 and a Senate committee member that indicted Buhari over a missing $2.8 billion from the account of the NNPC during the period that Buhari was Managing Director of the NNPC/Petroleum Minister. .

According to media reports, in 1983, when the Senate Committee late Saraki chaired was investigating the stolen $2.8 billion, from the coffers Of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between 1977-1978, under Buhari’s watch as NNPC Boss. Muhammadu Buhari was Indicted by the Nigerian Senate over the missing funds, as the money was traced to his bank account with British bank, Midland Bank, now HSBC.

Muhammdu Buhari and his military gangs, staged the 1983 coup that ousted the Shehu Shagari-led government to, allegedly, cover up his indictment by the Senate Committee and the Justice Ayo Irikefe panel that probed the missing 2.8 billion dollars oil money.

The late Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki was thrown behind bars together with members of his committee and other Nigerian politicians by Major General Buhari. Regrettably, the $2.8 Billion probe was swept under the carpet. The audit trail was destroyed, and documents obtained by the Senate Committee were destroyed when Buhari sent soldiers to invade the Senate and cart away all the files.

Buhari proceeded to declare himself a saint with the barrel of gun, as he is aware that no one would challenge him.

32 years gone, Nigerians are still asking where did the missing $2.8 Billion gone? The current value of $2.8 billion stolen in 1970s in a simple compound interest worth over N887.25Billion. This is bigger than the budget of several African countries combined.

Today, it looked like President Buhari still wants more pounds of Saraki flesh, and is desperately scheming to retaliate for what the late Chief Saraki ‘did’ to him, on his son and Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who was in school when this incident happened. The President using EFCC to summon the wife of Senator Bukola, Toyin for questioning was the first step in this revenge mission.

Toyin Saraki, who holds no political office, is being questioned over a fund transfer related case dating back 13 years. That is strange. Why now? Why today?

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki is now in a mud fight with the the Presidency and APC party leadership, using the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Tribunal, whose chairman, Alhaji Danladi Umar has been indicted for corruption and has been avoiding prosecution for 9 months now over millions of naira
bribe he received from a former Customs controller general.

It is ludicrous that President Buhari thinks that his disagreement with Senate President, Saraki will be resolved by using the CCB. The leadership of the CCB should have been queried by honest Nigerians for failing to point out the error in Saraki’s asset declaration form for over 12 years.

President Buhari’s asset declaration in 2003, allegedly, did not list his Asokoro, Abuja Mansion which is worth over N6 billion in 2015. The estate belonged to Buhari way back before then.

While we support a war against corruption, using it as a tool to fight personal enemies or settling political differences must be discouraged and condemned by all Nigerians.

The Nigerian Police and CCB ignoring an order from a superior court and threatening to arrest the Senate President is another set back on our democracy that have blossomed in the last 4 years.

Isaiah Umeoranefo can be reached on Facebook here.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

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