Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s meeting with
President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors yesterday focused mostly
on strategies to dislodge corrupt elements from the National Assembly, a
presidency source has disclosed
During the meeting, which lasted for close to 2 hours, Obasanjo
pointedly told Buhari that with a corrupt leadership led by Saraki at
the National Assembly, he stands no chance of fighting corruption and
moving the nation forward.
The two-time Nigeria leader then reportedly told Buhari he must be
willing to outspend the Senate President in order to remove him and the
other rogues from the National Assembly, giving several instances when
he had to use such methods during his tenure to dislodge his enemies
from the Assembly. Obasanjo had a reputation for deploying rich
businessmen to offer irresistible bribes to lawmakers to meet his
objectives.
He is said to have revealed to Buhari that members of the People’s
Democratic Party who hid huge sums of money in Ghana and elsewhere are
reorganizing to take power from him.
A flustered Buhari thanked Obasanjo, describing the former PDP leader as a “unique” person who could do the unthinkable.
He, however, responded that he could not in good conscience spend all
the monies available to oust just a few people because he needed to
show to Nigerians that he was elected to perform. Our source said he
reiterated his wish to use lawful means to prosecute those members of
the Assembly involved in corruption, but expressed disappointment in the
judiciary, citing instances where judges have been compromised in
ongoing cases.
Speaking further on Senate President Saraki, Buhari told Obasanjo
that Saraki was an ambitious man who aspires to become president, but
promised he would do everything legally possible to prosecute him for
his acts of corruption.
SaharaReporters learnt later that the Attorney General of the
Federation is dusting up files against former governors for
prosecution. Saraki is said to be a top priority on the list, as Buhari
is said to be opposed to any form of truce with the Senate President
even though he is currently in talks with the Secretary to the Federal
Government, the Director-General of the Department of State Security and
the AGF.
On Saraki’s side, Senator Danjuma Goje, David Umaru, who is the Chair
of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, and two others are reaching out to
help Saraki resolve the ongoing forgery lawsuit against him and his
deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
As soon as Obasanjo left the meeting with Buhari, he spoke to State
House reporters. Among others, he told them that his
previously-expressed position on National Assembly members being full of
rogues and robbers has been vindicated over the revelation that they
padded the 2016 budget.
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