Saraki seeks Emir’s help on Buhari

Senate President Bukola Saraki, has resorted to seeking the
assistance of emirs and traditional rulers, to make peace
with President Buhari. He has solicited help from the Emir of
his home town, Ilorin, Kwara State, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-
Gambari, an aide of the emir says.
President Buhari, since the inauguration of the 8th Senate
on June 9, has reportedly been shunning Saraki whose
emergence and that of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu of the
Peoples Democratic Party did not go down well with the
leadership of the All Progressives Congress.
According to the emir’s aide who spoke on condition of
anonymity, the senate president has requested some
prominent traditional rulers in the state led by Sulu-Gambari,
who is also the Chairman, Kwara State Council of Traditional
Rulers to intercede on his behalf with Buhari.
It was gathered that the monarchs had wanted to meet with
Buhari but could not as a result of the President’s visit to
the United States and his recent visit to Cameroon to seek
for regional collaboration against Boko Haram.
The aide said that this would not be the first time Sulu-
Gambari had interceded on behalf of Saraki concerning the
senate presidency.
According to him, the Emir of Ilorin before the emergence of
Saraki as the Senate President had sent a team of
emissaries to the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, with a view to getting the former Lagos State
governor soften on his stand against Saraki’s ambition to
occupy the exalted position.
He said Saraki is now more worried with the resolution of
the leadership tussle in the House of Representatives, where
the Speaker, Alhaji Yakubu Dogora, after meetings with
Buhari and other APC stakeholders acceded to the party’s
decision and announced Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila as the
House Leader.
The aide added that Saraki was in Ilorin at the weekend,
adding that the Senate President would continue with his
mobilisation for prominent stakeholders to smoothen the
relationship between him and Buhari.
However, the spokesperson for the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji
Solihu Mohammed, said though he could not confirm Sulu-
Gambari’s mediatory role between Buhari and Saraki, the
Emir had been playing unifying roles for the sustenance of
the nation’s democracy.
Mohammed said,
“I am not aware that Saraki has approached the emir
to smoothen relationship with the senate president
and the president of the country.”
Punch

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