Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he was sacked as a minister by former President Goodluck Jonathan because he did not abuse ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki during a campaign in Kwara state.
Abdullahi spoke in Abuja on Tuesday during the public presentation of his book, ‘The Loyalist: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice’.
The ADC spokesperson served as minister of youth development and later minister of sports under Jonathan’s administration and was relieved of his appointment in March 2014.
When Saraki was the governor of Kwara, Abdullahi was his special assistant on communication, special adviser on policy, and later appointed as commissioner for education.
‘HOW I WAS PRESSURED TO ATTACK SARAKI’
While giving a vote of thanks, Abdullahi recalled he started writing the book in 2019, aiming to tell the story of how his relationship with certain individuals evolved based on their dealings with his principal, Saraki at that time.
He said the book’s initial title was ‘In the Shadow of the Godfather’.
Speaking about this loyalty to the former senate president, Abdullahi said he refused to be drawn into the conflict between his principal and former President Jonathan shortly after Saraki left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ADC spokesperson also narrated what transpired when the former president visited Kwara in March 2014 for an event.
He noted that as a minister in Jonathan’s cabinet and the most senior official in the Kwara’s PDP, he was expected to lead the president’s campaign in the state.
He said during the campaign, the speakers, including governors, who mounted the podium attacked Saraki, noting that it was expected of him to do the same.
“Dr Saraki had just left PDP at the time to join APC, but I was still serving in President Jonathan’s cabinet,” Abdullahi said.
“At that point, Dr. Saraki’s departure to APC automatically pushed me up as the highest-ranking political office holder in the state.
“But I still didn’t get it. As far as I was concerned, I was a minister of sport. So, what’s my business with anything else? I was that naive.
“So, I got to Kwara, and every single person that climbed the stage made it their duty to attack and abuse Dr Saraki and say all kinds of things about him.
“As the minister from Kwara, I was supposed to lead the campaign, so I was expected to climb the stage and also join the attack. I didn’t do it.
“I remember, Governor Liyel (of Cross River) tried to save me that day, because Governor Seriake Dickson, I forgot to send him an invitation.
“He was pushing for me to be fired. That how would a minister not lead the campaign of his boss? He’s definitely an APC mole in the government.
“Governor Liyel, I remember, went to Dr Jonathan, the president, and said, ‘the World Cup is coming. If we fire Bolaji now, we are going to do badly’
“Then I heard the other governor say to the president, ‘Na him go play the ball, we can fire him’.
“If Dr Saraki had asked me to go and start attacking President Jonathan, I would have told him I wouldn’t do it. So, in the same way, I will not go and attack Dr Saraki. Dr. Saraki has been my benefactor. He has not offended me.
“I will not be enrolled in a fight that is not mine. But I knew I was going to lose my job. And I told my wife, I said, ‘look, they are going to sack me; you guys should get ready’.
“I knew I was going to be sacked. I had told my aides.”
The former minister said he was in London for an official engagement after the campaign when he started receiving messages from people suggesting that he had been sacked.
Saraki left the PDP in January 2014 after he fell out with the administration of Jonathan.
The book launch was attended by ADC leaders, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Peter Obi, former presidential candidate; David Mark, ADC national chairman; Rauf Aregbesola, ADC national secretary; Kayode Fayemi, former Ekiti governor; Emeka Ihedioha, former Imo governor; and Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation.
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