Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has disclosed that Buhari was initially reluctant to congratulate Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara following their controversial emergence as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2015.
Adesina made the revelation in a tribute to his late boss, recounting his early days as the president’s media adviser and the challenges of balancing loyalty with professional judgment.
He said the incident occurred just nine days after he assumed office as presidential spokesman.
According to him, both Saraki and Dogara had secured leadership of the National Assembly contrary to the preference of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
While their emergence was seen as rebellious, it remained within the bounds of constitutional order.
“I told the President we needed to congratulate them. He balked. But I stood my ground. He said no, I also said no. I said it would portray him as undemocratic,” Adesina wrote.
Adesina added that Buhari eventually agreed and allowed the statement to be issued, only making a slight addition to the final text.
“At the end of the day, he reasoned with me and the statement was written, with him just adding one word,” he noted.
“Keeping to his word is part of the famed integrity. Argue with me. If you have a better point, I’ll agree with you.”
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