Former presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has revealed that late President Muhammadu Buhari was unwilling to congratulate Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara after they emerged as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2015.
Adesina made this known in a personal tribute to his former boss, reflecting on some behind-the-scenes moments during Buhari’s early days in office.
He said the event happened just nine days after he resumed duty as Buhari’s media adviser. Saraki and Dogara had both emerged as leaders of the National Assembly in a manner that defied the wishes of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which had preferred other candidates.
“The President didn’t want to issue any congratulatory message,” Adesina said. “But I told him we needed to. He disagreed. I insisted. I said not congratulating them would make him look undemocratic.”
Eventually, Buhari agreed after some persuasion. “He allowed the statement to go out, only adding one word to the final version. That was the kind of leader he was—firm, but willing to listen if you made a good argument,” Adesina added.
Saraki and Dogara’s victories in 2015 were seen as a bold political move against their party’s official choices, sparking early tension between the presidency and the legislature during Buhari’s first term.
Adesina used the story to highlight what he called Buhari’s integrity and willingness to reason, even when he strongly held a different view.