Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has accused the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari of systematically frustrating the activities of the 8th National Assembly, describing the legislative arm under his leadership as “harassed, bullied and blackmailed” by the executive.
Saraki made the revelations at the 2025 Reunion Gala of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) in Houston, Texas, where he reflected on his turbulent tenure as Senate President from 2015 to 2019.
According to the former Kwara State Governor, his decision to provide credible legislative oversight and question the Buhari administration’s requests led to a frosty relationship with the executive.
“I could have agreed with everything the Presidency under Buhari wanted and cut deals with them all the way. I would have been a good ally,” he said.
Saraki noted that efforts by the 8th Senate to pass meaningful legislation were deliberately sabotaged by the executive, especially as the 2019 general elections approached.
“The legislature under my leadership was silenced, harassed, assaulted, bullied and blackmailed,” he stated.
“The executive deliberately frustrated the passage of good laws, initiatives, and recommendations that would have been highly beneficial to our society.”
He expressed disappointment over the silence of Nigerians, both elite and ordinary citizens, during what he described as an era of institutional intimidation.
“We were like orphans. The elite and ordinary people kept quiet, were nonchalant, and stayed aloof,” he said, lamenting the lack of public support which he believes weakened the institution of the National Assembly and emboldened the executive.
Saraki warned that the fallout of that period is evident in the current posture of the National Assembly, which he claims now functions more like a “rubber stamp.”
He added: “Subsequent leadership of the National Assembly would rather play dumb because they do not want to go through the harrowing experience that Saraki went through.”
He further blamed Nigeria’s leadership crisis on politicians who assume office without vision or concrete plans, relying instead on recycled policies and so-called “government scammers.”
Saraki’s tenure as Senate President was marked by intense political battles, including legal confrontations widely perceived as politically motivated.
His emergence as Senate President in 2015, against the wishes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership and with support from opposition lawmakers, strained his relationship with President Buhari and the ruling party.
He later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), further deepening the rift and sparking failed attempts by the APC to remove him from office.
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