₦airaland Forum

Sen Abdullahi Adamu, representing Nasarawa West Senatorial District, in this interview speaks on what loyalists of the APC will do to Senate President Bukola Saraki if he eventually moves to the PDP. He also challenges the Senate President to be man enough to leave the APC. Excerpts


What does the gale of defections in the Senate portend for the polity as we approach the 2019 elections?

Take it from me that our colleagues who are now members of the PDP have made the mistake of their lives; they have committed a political blunder. You can start counting the days of failure that confronts the PDP.

All along, the Tuesday you referred to was only watershed. Those of us who are following the political activities knew they have been plotting to go. But they were not honest enough with themselves let alone the party that they didn’t want to do so at the expense of the offices they hold. They wanted to defect and retain their positions, because they knew the position of the constitution clearly. They tried to stuck on some RAPC to justify, as far as they’re concerned, something they call division. But that failed woefully.

So, they found themselves that they couldn’t succeed in the notion of a broken APC. They now said they could go by themselves to make a declaration in the Senate that they’ve left the party for another party.

For us, there’s no surprise, because these same guys who are talking of defecting have in actual fact been part and parcel of PDP from the day the president inaugurated the 8th National Assembly. They were led by Saraki. They went into an illicit accord with the PDP, and from then till that Tuesday, they have operated on the agenda of the PDP. They only wore the tag of APC, but they were not for all intents and purposes.

Unfortunately for them, the PDP, in spite of the apparent number they want to convince us about what they’re carrying to PDP, still remains the minority party in the Senate, and in the House of Representatives too. The APC alone has 53 on the ground, and APGA is working with us. The constituency of Bauchi South and Katsina where we lost Sen Mustapha Bukar, presumably their by-elections will be held this August, by the grace of God, that will come to our kitty. So, they’ve committed political blunder, to say the least and they’re going to be seen for whom they are. I’m happy.

In politics, you don’t want to lose anybody, there’s no doubt about that. You can win election by one vote. But where a person is inherently dishonest, where a person lives by breaching trust, the sooner you part way with him or her, the better. And that’s what has happened. You’ll see the APC will wax stronger in the National Assembly, because we now know who we are. We now know who is answering his father’s name, and we know those who may not know whose names they will answer. It’s now clear.

From all indications, the Senate President is going to dump the APC...

There’s no question that he’s going to dump, he’s not in the APC anymore. We were there in the presidency, the APC caucus, but he wasn’t there. So, don’t say he will. As far as we’re concerned, he’s gone.

Are you ok with Saraki still occupying the Senate President’s seat?

You don’t cross bridges until you reach them. They deliberately, because they foresaw this problem, they went on recess. We were not suppose to go on recess on Tuesday. This is the longest recess we’re having, which is about two months. The whole thing is to give them time to maneuver to do what they want to do, but it is an end game for them.

You can see proof that all this while, they wanted to go away, but they want to keep their positions. They want to eat their cake and have it. It’s very clear now. He has pushed everybody to go, and they’ve gone, and he still hasn’t made a formal declaration. It shows the extent of dishonesty of purpose and mistrust. He has no basis for you to know he is a leader who will stand up for whom he is and answer his father’s name, and stand up for the responsibility of whatever action he takes. That’s what it showed. It’s just about office, not about integrity or service.

Each time they talk about strengthening institutions, they’re talking about strengthening their bogey position of office. That’s what they’re doing, and that’s why we never agree with them. They will never play along, supporting their own government. You’re an APC man, your party has got a national mandate, you have a president, and you’re still working by the day, every one day, against the president, Muhammadu Buhari. It’s a betrayal.

If he had turned up for the meeting with the president, would you people have allowed him?

I would have sent him out. I would have told them that ‘you don’t belong here; you betrayed the president. You want to continue with the game of betrayal? Get out of this place.’

There were speculations that some of you were planning to change the leadership of the Senate on that Tuesday, how true is that?

I don’t talk about things that don’t happen. If there was an action, manifest, you can ask questions about it. But when you speculate, I don’t go for speculations. We’re talking reality. People said they decamped from one party to another, that’s a reality. I was there when it happened, and I can talk about it like I’m doing now. But whether there was an intention to change the leadership, that is speculation.

Do you think there are more black legs in the APC that would want to join the PDP?

As far as I’m concerned, again that’s speculation, and everyone of us has a right. If there are black legs, we’ll pick them.

You were reported to have said that Saraki only collated names of senators without contacting them for defection, how true is that?

I didn’t make any statement. I’m making the first statement since this thing happened on Tuesday. You see, people use us now to make a living. I can’t stop it, let them do it. The only thing is that the day they match my toe proper, they’ll know whom they’re dealing with. But if you’re in politics, people fly all sorts of things about you, and when you start to react to every little thing....

They’re drowning, and when a man is drowning and you throw a sword at him or her, he’ll pick it believing that that sword can turn to safety. I’ve been a senator, a ranking senator, and we’ve been together. I know what they say and do on the floor of the Senate. Whether there are some black legs, it’s not for me to say now. But time will tell. The leg isn’t black until it turns real black.

Why do you think the 8th Senate has been so chaotic?

Because we have the misfortune of having a leadership that has no integrity whatsoever, a leadership that started on a note of breach of trust. Once a person breaches trust, my tolerance level with him is very limited. That’s how it started. How do you see a person who is voted on a platform of a party and from day one he plots to do what that party would not want him to do? And he succeeds, carries on from one thing to another.

You don’t have to wait until there’s a change of leadership. Leadership is changing by their action. They don’t have the majority, we have the majority. Let’s come back and have an election.

Are you going to move or call for his removal?

Let’s wait for the day to come. Let’s hope we’re alive, let’s hope we’re well and do reconvene. And let’s hope the matter comes up. What we’ll do will be determined by the circumstances of the event coming on our laps.

Sen Melaye was seen dancing in front of you on Tuesday on the floor and making some statements, what do you think of such action?

I’ll not forget one day when I thought we could do things properly, when I thought things happening were not quite in keeping with the integrity that is supposed to govern the affairs of the Senate, I was talking with the Senate President. Some of the things I was pointing as example was that kind of behaviour. He said to me ‘no, forget Dino is a clown.’ That’s what Saraki said to me. He’s alive, let him come out and deny saying that to me. Dino is a clown, so what do you do with clowns? And he was using him up to that day.

He came dancing and was like ‘these are the desciple of this government, and Abdullahi Adamu is one of them.’ I don’t care a hoot about that. I have more serious situations than that. A senator dancing before another senator? The Senate is a leveler. Even if I’m 101 years and I’m in the Senate and a boy of 18 years got elected to the Senate, if that was permissible age, by the time we get sworn in, we’re equals.

When somebody who is my equal would come before me and start dancing and saying things to agitate me, I’m more matured than that. I got a mission, a more serious one. My mission is for this government to feel effective representation in the Senate and my party to feel they have a good representative in the Senate, to do the bidding of my party and without prejudice protect the interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nothing happens in the Senate will divert my attention.

And you won’t stop until you unseat the present leadership?

That’s not my mission. That’s a very primordial little thing for me to do. I can’t say change of leadership of the Senate becomes my preoccupation. That will be too mean. The leadership isn’t about me or to unseat anybody. It’s about what the Senate is doing and it’s reputation and whatever we can do to enhance the credibility of the Senate. Abdullahi Adamu will be part of it.

With all these things, what do you think Saraki wants to achieve?

Saraki is alive, maybe in hiding or maybe he’s free somewhere, you’re free to go and ask him. Find out from him what’s he’s doing or what he wants to do.

The man is all out to move, should he move, what will you do?

Let him move. If he’s man enough, a man of his conviction, and he wants to go to PDP, let him go. He has got his pawns gone, now he’s the king in the chessboard, let’s see the king move.

Will there be a checkmate?

Let the king move first. Let him be man enough to move.

There’s a king in the Senate chessboard now, what happens if he moves?

When he moves, then you’ll see what happens on the board. Are you a castle? Whichever position you want to take, what happens to other players on the chessboard? What move affects where you are? Are you a bishop or a knight? All these come to play.

What happens if the king doesn’t move?

Then the other players on the chessboard will move him. That’s all.

MrPolitics:
Makarfi has drowned in the Sea of heavy politicians contesting PDP ticket.
The PDP ticket would be given to one of
1. Atiku Abubakar
2. Rabiu Kwankwaso
3. Sule Lamido
4. Bukola Saraki
5. Aminu Tambuwal

Findings show that four reasons were responsible for the massive defection drama that happened in the two chambers of the National Assembly. Case in point: Ruling All Progressives (APC), on Tuesday, June 24 saw more than a dozen of its senators and 37 members of the House of Reps defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The first reason, insiders told Daily Trust Saturday, was the outright display of ego by “few ambitious politicians” in the National Assembly, who were looking for higher positions, and could only achieve this by challenging the status quo. Secondly, a revolt by other lawmakers who feel suffocated by governors in their states, and would most likely lose their seats between August and October this year, when primary elections must have wrapped up.

The third reason, according to insiders, is perceived lethargy of ruling APC, which failed to manage its success and assert its power through entrenching discipline from the day it took over power on 29th May, 2015. And when Adams Oshiomhole took over the mantle of leadership recently, he was only able to cover little ground in terms of mending fences because the problems are overwhelming. The fourth reason, according to some major players, is what they described as President Muhammadu Buhari’s “I-don’t-care attitude” to party politics, alleging he has reneged his responsibility as ‘father to all’. This disposition, according to them, provided the breeding ground which allowed crisis to fester in APC chapters in more than 30 states in the country.

Most personalities spoken to by Daily Trust Saturday believe that had it been President Buhari had played the role he did in the past week, about a year or two ago - which included directly meeting with aggrieved members and attentively listening to their genuine grievances and resolving them - he and the APC would have been harvesting more followers, rather than many.

According to them, the “powers” Buhari gave Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu some months ago to reconcile with aggrieved members only succeeded in one area, which is keeping the South West intact in the APC, and nothing more.

It is believed that even this feat was only achieved because politicians from that part of the country have gotten everything they need in terms of projects and appointments in the present political reality, and would most likely be the biggest beneficiaries in 2013 when power shifts to the South.

Drama galore

APC sources said President Buhari was actually not aware of the last-minute scheming by the inner circle of people around him to checkmate what Saraki and Dogara wanted to do between Tuesday and Thursday. For instance, it was gathered that he did not approve the involvement of the police to block Saraki’s convoy, the siege on Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu’s home, the invitation of the two officers by the police the previous night, and the plan to change the leadership of the National Assembly.

Though Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina), who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs and an ardent supporter of President Buhari, had dismissed a claim that there were moves to remove Saraki as Senate President and Dogara as Speaker of the House of Reps through shady ways, he admitted soon after the defections that they a lot was done to checkmate the Tsunami that was looming over the National Assembly.

Senator Ibrahim, who is the chairman of Buhari Support Group (BSG), said “The impeachment process of the president (by Saraki-led Senate) should have started Thursday. We know they were planning, and they realized we know. They knew that if they had remained up till today (Wednesday), a lot of things would have happened,” he said.

Another source said with this in view, on the day of the defections, the pro-Buhari senators had also completed plans to use the instruments of the state, including the DSS and the police to “forcefully” remove both Saraki and Dogara as presiding officers.

“That was what actually informed the siege on Saraki convoy, to stop him from getting to the National Assembly. Unknown to the police, he did not even sleep in his house in Maitama,” the source said.

But another source said members of the pro-Buhari group were not deterred when they realized that he was not in the convoy. “They actually wanted to force their way to remove him even while Saraki was in the gallery. However, when President Buhari heard what was happening, he reprimanded the high-profile security heads, and they all backed out. That was how the drama ended, and realizing the implications of what would have happened, Saraki read out the list of prospective defectors even though some had not finally decided to leave with him. It was the same thing at the House of Reps,” he said.

It was gathered that aside the efforts to woo back the defectors, there are spirited machinations to effect leadership change at the Upper Chambers to give the ruling party firm control of parliament. Also, sources said two names are being considered as the likely replacement of Saraki, should the plot to oust him succeeds.

The Chairman of the Parliament Support Group (PSG) for President Buhari in the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said: “If Saraki refuses to move, we will move him,” meaning by the time they resume from recess in September, the drama will continue. Though Saraki and Dogara have not formally defected, the writing in the wall shows that it is just a matter of time, as they must have a firm platform ahead of party primaries for elective positions which will commence on August 18, and end on October 7.

Saraki and Dogara: Blameless?

But a source close to both Saraki and Dogara said the two presiding officers are both “victims of circumstance”. The source, who does not want to be mentioned because of the sensitive position he holds, said: “When you look at the situation critically, it is a battle for survival; it is some people that were fighting Saraki and not Buhari but sadly, the president refused to reprimand them. And for the fact that Saraki is also ambitious, he used the opportunity to fight back. Buhari would have solved all the problems bedevilling the APC family by simply holding meetings with aggrieved members. Of course, he cannot stop some disgruntled people from going, like Kwankwaso and Sokoto governor Aminu Tambuwal, but he could’ve made peace with Saraki.”

Defective defections?

Despite the defection of 14 lawmakers out of the APC to the PDP and ADC, the ruling party still maintains a slim majority in the Red Chamber, while the defections of 37 members of the House of Reps did not also take away the majority status of the APC.

As things stand, the APC has 53 senators, with the PDP having 50, while two are for APGA and ADC, respectively, with two other seats vacated as a result of the demise of senators Ali Wakili and Mustapha Bukar. But frantic efforts are on to forestall the movement of additional senators out of the party, while those who left are being impressed upon to return. Such efforts may have started yielding results, as one of the defected senators, Lanre Tejuoso from Ogun State, who attended the meeting between Buhari and 42 APC senators on Wednesday night, told the president that, “Your son has returned home.”

Just like Tejuoso returned, others too might, with the right kind of reconciliation, insiders say. The body language of Senator Shehu Sani from Kaduna State also shows that with just a promise for his ticket, he might not leave the APC. He too had attended the meeting held with Buhari.

The PDP has said it would manage its successes in the wake of mass defection to its fold by being fair and transparent with both the existing and returning members. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, told Daily Trust Saturday that the returnees were not neophytes, but heavyweight politicians.

In the meantime, the PDP’s grand snatch of the National Assembly remains a masterstroke. But the reality, especially in politics, is like one source posited: “Who knows tomorrow?”

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Kano:

Until Tuesday, he was a member of the APC with a three-year feud between him and his former deputy, current governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

Kwankwaso’s major grievance is the fact that he along with his teeming supporters in the Kwankwasiyya Movement had been side-lined by the Gandujiyya faction. When the party’s congresses held recently, Kwankwaso was not given any chance to produce a single party official. His seat in the Senate is said to have been ceded to another person in the party.

Again, Kwankwaso has an ambition to be president, and feels that with Buhari on the saddle in the APC, he could not pick the party’s ticket. He’s also mindful of the fact that by 2023 when Buhari completes his second term, the spotlight will move to the South.

Reportedly, during a meeting on Monday with the president, ahead of his defection, Kwankwaso had after listening to Buhari, expressed shock that it seems the president is not aware of the problems in Kano. “Remember, I had audience with you three times on this matter, and you failed to take action,” Kwankwaso was quoted as saying during the meeting. He left the APC together with about ten House of Reps members from Kano.

Isa Hamma Misau & Nazif Gamawa, Bauchi:

Misau and Gamawa are both from Bauchi State. Shortly after the APC took over power at both federal and state levels, Misau and Gamawa had a clash with Governor Mohammed Abubakar, including almost all federal lawmakers from the state.

Misau, a former police officer, later extended his scathing criticism and attacks to the Buhari-led government at the centre.

In the case of Gamawa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, his role in the rejected bill that sought to change elections sequence in the country was seen as an attack on Buhari.

Suleiman Hunkuyi, Kaduna:

Senator Hunkuyi’s political fight with Governor Nasiru el-Rufai is well-known. He, along with Senator Shehu Sani, parted ways with the governor over two years ago. Hunkuyi, with his APC Akida faction in the state dumped el-Rufai. It then culminated in Hunkuyi’s defection to the PDP on Tuesday. Although observers say bringing him back may be difficult, it is possible to have him re-join in an atmosphere of reconciliation.

Ubale Shittu, Jigawa:

Shittu, from Jigawa State, has been having a running battle with Governor Muhammadu Badaru, and he quickly aligned himself with the Saraki’s camp at the centre to spite both Buhari and his state governor.

A ranking senator recently said that Shittu is one of the few senators that are ready to do anything to please Saraki. But like some of the defected senators, it is believed that he too can be wooed back to the party with genuine reconciliation between him and his state governor. This scenario also applies for the likes of Rep Mohammed Sani Zorro from Jigawa State.

Barnabas Gemade, Benue:

Gemade has since fallen out with George Akume, who is said to have a firm grip of the APC structure in Benue State. Both of them are senators, but Akume appears to be more powerful when it comes to the control of APC.

Gemade, like other colleagues from Benue, is angry that the APC-led Federal Government has not been able to nip in the bud the continued killings in the state, allegedly by herdsmen in the past three years, even though the problem predates the current administration.

Barnabas Gemade, Benue:

Gemade has since fallen out with George Akume, who is said to have a firm grip of the APC structure in Benue State. Both of them are senators, but Akume appears to be more powerful when it comes to the control of APC.

Gemade, like other colleagues from Benue, is angry that the APC-led Federal Government has not been able to nip in the bud the continued killings in the state, allegedly by herdsmen in the past three years, even though the problem predates the current administration.

Dino Melaye, Kogi:

The controversial senator from Kogi State has attracted a lot of criticism in the past three years since the emergence of his godfather, Saraki, as Senate President. A former member of APC, Melaye has never seen anything good about the government, which he did not only campaign for but also fought seriously to ensure its success during the 2015 elections.

Matters got out of hand when his relationship with Governor Yahaya Bello got sour. Melaye was the chairman of the transition committee when Bello became governor-elect, but soon after swearing in, they parted ways.

Abdulaziz Nyako, Adamawa:

Senator Nyako complained about what he termed as the high level of injustice meted out on him and his supporters in the APC. He said he spent six months trying to see the former national chairman of APC, John Odigie-Oyegun in an attempt to right wrongs in the Adamawa APC, but in vain.

The last straw was the party’s congresses, held a couple of months ago. None of his supporters were allowed to be part of leadership at all levels. Thus, he said it was only expedient for him and his supporters to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and fight the injustice.

Danbaba Abdullahi, Sokoto:

Senator Danbaba is said to be playing the political game of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, whose quest to be president is not news. It is also believed that Danbaba feared that he may not get his return ticket to the National Assembly as the APC structure in his state is under the firm control of former governor and now-senator, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. Apart from him, about five lawmakers from Sokoto State in the House of Reps have also joined the PDP, an indication that Tambuwal might follow suit.

Monsurat Sunmonu, Oyo:

Senator Sunmonu’s major grouse is with her state governor, Abiola Ajimobi. Her return ticket to the Senate was under threat as the governor reportedly resolved that a former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, would replace her.

She then decided to seek a return ticket via the ADC, a newly-formed political party that hitherto had no representation in both chambers of the National Assembly. It is believed that the only thing that may make her return to the APC is the reversal of the governor’s decision.

Usman Bayero Nafada, Gombe:

Nafada’s major grievance is the fact that he has been completely edged out f the affairs of the Gombe APC as Senator Danjuma Goje is said to be in full control of the party. The former deputy speaker of the House of Reps wants to be governor of Gombe State and he felt since he has no structure whatsoever of the party at his disposal, it would be good for him to try elsewhere. But should there be reconciliation, he too may change his decision.