Saraki’s defection from APC led to Kwara political collapse — Abdullahi

Former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, has described former Senate President Bukola Saraki’s 2018 decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a critical political error that accelerated the collapse of the Saraki political dynasty in Kwara State. Abdullahi shared this in his memoir, The Loyalist, which will be presented to the public on Tuesday.

The 297-page memoir chronicles Abdullahi’s two decades in Nigerian politics and offers an insider perspective on key events at both state and federal levels. Abdullahi, a long-time associate of Saraki and now spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), revisits the 2019 elections that led to the Saraki family losing control of Kwara politics.

Before the 2019 elections, Saraki had served eight years as governor and another eight years as a senator, including a term as Senate President between 2015 and 2019. Abdullahi argued that Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, achieved without the backing of the APC leadership, planted the seeds of political tension that eventually worked against him.

Saraki had allied with opposition senators to secure the Senate presidency, despite the party’s preference for Ahmad Lawan. This created strained relations between the National Assembly and the Presidency, which persisted throughout the 8th National Assembly. In 2018, Saraki’s defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) further deepened political challenges, Abdullahi contends.

Abdullahi says leaving the APC allowed the “O to ge” (Enough is Enough) movement in Kwara to succeed, dismantling the Saraki political structure. He noted that the Supreme Court cleared Saraki of a false asset declaration case on 6 July 2018, presenting a chance to rebuild relations with the party and the Presidency, which Saraki failed to seize.

“By leaving the party, he ended up transforming what was essentially a civil conflict into a full-blown war with an enemy that possessed vastly superior firepower,” Abdullahi wrote, arguing that remaining in the APC could have secured Saraki another term as Senate President.

At the 2018 PDP presidential primary, Saraki lost the ticket to Atiku Abubakar. He then returned to contest the Kwara senatorial seat but was defeated by APC candidate Yahaya Oloriegbe. Abdullahi also highlighted that the PDP governorship candidate, Abdulrazak Atunwa, and most other PDP candidates lost their elections in 2019.

The 2019 elections marked the first time since 1979 that new political leaders were elected in Kwara without Saraki backing. The APC maintained dominance in the state in the 2023 polls, extending Saraki’s absence from elective office and cementing the political consequences of his defection.