Details From The Meeting Saraki Held With Obasanjo ... What They Discussed

Facts have emerged showing why Senate President
Bukola Saraki led a delegation of Senators to meet
former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his hilltop
mansion, Abeokuta, Ogun state on Friday.
A source who was part of the meeting informed
PREMIUM TIMES that the Senate President was in
Abeokuta to beg Mr. Obasanjo to reconcile him with
President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All
Progressives Congress, APC.
Mr. Saraki emerged as the president of the Senate
against the decision of APC leaders. He was also
elected when most Senators from the APC were at the
International Conference Centre waiting to hold a
meeting with Mr. Buhari to discuss the election of the
Senate president and Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Premium times gathered that Mr. Saraki lamented that
although the party leaders have stated that they have
accepted his emergence, there was “complete
communication breakdown between him, the president
and the party”.
The national chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, had
abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting with Mr. Saraki
last week without giving another appointment.
Likewise, we also gathered that Mr. Saraki had tried
severally to meet with Mr. Buhari after his emergence,
but was always denied audience.
Another source in the presidency informed PT that the
President was angry with Mr. Saraki and the
management of the national assembly for going ahead
with their election despite adequate knowledge of an
invitation for a meeting with Mr. Saraki and his
colleagues.
“The president considered it as a mark of disrespect for
his office for Saraki to ignore an invitation to meet with
him and his colleagues,” our source said.
In his response, Mr. Obasanjo promised to do his best
to “ensure communication between all parties”.
However, the spokesperson for the president, Garba
Shehu, said the Senate president did not seek to meet
with Mr. Buhari.
“I am not aware of any request for a meeting, the
president would have seen him, he represents a key
institution in our democracy,” he said.
Calls to Mr. Saraki and his aide, Bamikole Omishore,
were not answered.
However, the former president in his usual self also
joked with the delegation, saying “ you children of
nowadays only run to elders when you have finished
making the damage”.
PREMIUM TIMES also learnt that after he was informed
of the visit, Mr. Obasanjo called Mr. Buhari to inform
him that Mr. Saraki is leading a delegation of Senators
to his Abeokuta home and Mr. Buhari simply said “you
have to see them now, are they not your boys?”.
Among Mr. Saraki’s delegation include former governor
of Gombe state, Danjuma Goje, Andy Uba, former
Zamfara governor, Ahmed Sani, Olagunsoye Oyinlola
and others.