Bolaji Abdullahi, former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, calls Bukola Saraki’s 2018 defection a massive blunder.
According to reports, Saraki jumped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition, sparking immediate backlash in Kwara State.
This misstep accelerated the swift collapse of his once-dominant political dynasty.
Abdullahi’s ‘The Loyalist’ Memoir Drops Today: Explosive Saraki Revelations
Abdullahi made the assertion in his memoir, The Loyalist, which will be presented to the public on Tuesday (today)
The 297-page book chronicles Abdullahi’s many years in Nigerian political landscape and offers an insider account of key political events at both state and federal levels.
Abdullahi, Saraki’s long-time associate and now African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson, reflects on the pivotal 2019 elections.
Those polls shattered the Saraki family’s decades-long grip on Kwara politics.
Saraki’s 16-Year Reign: 8 as Governor, 8 as Senate President (2015-2019)
Saraki had spent eight years as governor and another eight years as senator, including serving as Senate President from 2015 to 2019.
According to Abdullahi, Saraki’s emergence as Senate President in 2015, without the backing of the APC leadership indeed marked the beginning of sustained political tension.
The success of Saraki was made posible with the support of the opposition senators, despite the party’s preference for Ahmad Lawan.
Abdullahi highlights how Saraki’s defection poisoned ties between the National Assembly and Presidency.
This tension persisted through the entire 8th National Assembly’s term.
Abdullahi argues Saraki’s 2018 jump to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made matters worse.
It deepened rifts and accelerated the fallout in Kwara politics.
Saraki Squandered Court Clearance Chance
Abdullahi states that Saraki missed key chance to reconcile after Supreme Court cleared his assets on July 6, 2018.
Saraki let that turning point slip away.
Abdullahi writes: Saraki’s party exit turned a civil conflict into full-blown war.
He faced a vastly superior enemy with overwhelming firepower.
He added that, the APC might have secured Saraki another term as Senate President.
At the PDP presidential primary in 2018, Saraki lost his ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
PDP’s Atunwa, Others Crashed 2019
Abdullahi noted PDP governorship candidate Abdulrazak Atunwa and most others lost decisively in the 2019 Kwara elections.
The crushing defeat fueled Kwara’s “O to ge” movement success, fully dismantling Saraki’s long-standing political structure.
Abdullahi: 2019 elections marked Kwara’s first since 1979 with leaders rising without Saraki’s backing.
APC swept Kwara in 2023, dominating the state landscape.
This locked Saraki out of elective office completely.
His 2018 defection’s long-term consequences now stand starkly clear.
