Tuesday elections of Dr . Bukola Saraki as Senate President
and Mr . Yakubu Dogara as House of Representatives Speaker
tipped in their favour on account of the intervention of top
businessmen , high - profile investors , and some ex - Ministers in
the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan , it
was gathered yesterday .
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.
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
$ 20 billion 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
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 10 th 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.
The source added the new leadership of the National
Assembly would not deter him from pursuing his goals. “ Did
former President Olusegun Obasanjo not live with a hostile
senate under the late Chuba Okadigbo and adversarial House
of Representatives under ex - Speaker Ghali Na ’ Abba ? Why do
corrupt businessmen think that they can escape justice by
controlling the National Assembly ?”

Though the article was written by pro Tinubu,but it has some elements of truth.In as much, President Muhamed Buhari is not ready to compromise both the traitors,renegades, oil barons will be disappointed.