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Senate President Bukola Saraki in an exclusively interview with Daily Trust on Sunday talked about his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Reacting to accusations from some APC members that he plans to ground Buhari’s government, Saraki said: “There is a lot of misinformation out there. From Day One I took a position, and some very powerful people don’t like the position. When you want to know who is loyal to you, it is during your trying moments. Go back two months ago. Who was it who stood up resolutely and said Mr. President will be back and there is no cause for alarm? I don’t think a man who is not loyal to you will do that. We know some people who went to London and saw President Buhari, but they just left. They did not say anything. My message to all our party’s supporters is that I am committed, that whatever we promised Nigerians, we will deliver. For some of us, this government cannot be allowed to fail. We left one party with our supporters and embarked on this journey. We must be able to go back to them and tell them that that journey was worth it. If God forbid this government fails, what will I go back and tell them? It is in my personal political interest to see that this government succeeds”.
Saraki said he has a very good relationship with the President despite perceived friction between the Senate and the Presidency.
His words: “You should separate issues. Are you blaming President Buhari for any agency head that has misunderstanding with Senate? If any agency head decides to abuse the National Assembly, do you blame President Buhari for it? You asked, what is my relationship with President Buhari? You must separate that from any head of an agency that decides to abuse the National Assembly and cause a problem [Laughter]. Was it President Buhari that said, go there and abuse them? I am sure it was not so. I don’t think President Buhari told anyone to get up and say that all senators are armed robbers. Those people decided on their own that that is the way they want to relate with Senate, so we must separate that from President Buhari”
