Former Senate President Bukola Saraki says the Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency repeatedly harassed and obstructed the 8th National Assembly, frustrating the passage of meaningful legislation.
Speaking during the weekend at the 2025 Reunion Gala of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) in Houston, Texas, Saraki reflected on his time in office between 2015 and 2019, lamenting how the executive undermined the legislative arm.
According to him, “The legislature is an institution created to make laws, oversee the executive, and represent the people.”
“A legislative leader must have character. He must be bold to speak truth to power. For me, the confidence to act in this manner came from these three sources,” he said in a speech shared by his spokesperson, Yusuf Olaniyonu.
Saraki criticized the lack of public support during his tenure, saying citizens remained silent amid attacks on his leadership, a situation he believes weakened the National Assembly going forward.
“The legislature under my leadership was silenced, harassed, assaulted, bullied, and blackmailed, and the executive deliberately frustrated the passage of good laws, initiatives, and recommendations that would have been highly beneficial to our society,” he said. “We were like orphans.”
Saraki added, “The elite and ordinary people kept quiet, were nonchalant, and stayed aloof. Now, years after we left office, subsequent leadership of the National Assembly would rather be a rubber stamp and play dumb because they do not want to go through the harrowing experience that Saraki went through.”
He said the executive sabotaged initiatives such as an amendment to the Public Procurement Act, which would have prioritized Nigerian-made goods and services to boost the local economy.
The bill failed due to what he described as political interference tied to the 2019 election season.
“If I had agreed with everything the Presidency under Buhari wanted, I would have been hailed as a loyalist and ally,” he said. “I could have cut deals all the way.”
On Nigeria’s leadership crisis, Saraki argued that many elected officials come into office with no clear plan or vision and end up relying on “government scammers” who recycle the same ideas for every administration.
“This is a big failure of followership, and it is an enabler for the continuous failure of leadership,” he said. “These sad developments are indications that our institutions are weak. Instead of building institutions, we are building strong men and women.”
Saraki’s strained relationship with the Buhari administration began in 2015 after he defied the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership to become Senate President with support from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
His time in office was also marked by a series of court cases many considered politically motivated.
After he eventually defected to the PDP, the APC attempted—unsuccessfully—to remove him from office.
