Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has alleged that the eighth National Assembly was “harassed and obstructed by the executive” over his refusal to cut deals.

Saraki, who was President of the Senate from 2015 to 2019, made the disclosure on Saturday at the 2025 Reunion Gala of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) in Houston, Texas.

The former Kwara governor said that Nigerians ignored repeated attacks on him, adding that similar occurrences made his successors in the National Assembly weak.

“The legislature is an institution created to make laws, oversee the executive, and represent the people.

“A legislative leader must have character. He must be bold to speak truth to power. For me, the confidence to act in this manner came from these three sources.

“Why would I be a Senate President and could not lead the Senate to ask questions on what the loans the executive branch is seeking approval is meant to be spent for?” Saraki asked.

Speaking further, he noted that he would have been hailed as a loyalist and ally if he had agreed to all of former president Muhammadu Buhari’s requests.

According to Saraki, the executive frustrated efforts to pass impactful legislation.

“We were not successful because the bill got caught in the politics leading to the 2019 elections, and thus, did not get the required attention from the House of Representatives.

“The legislature under my leadership was silenced, harassed, assaulted, bullied, and blackmailed, and the executive deliberately frustrated the passage of good laws, initiatives, and recommendations that would have been highly beneficial to our society.

“We were like orphans. The elite and ordinary people kept quiet, were nonchalant, and stayed aloof.

“Now, years after we left office, subsequent leadership of the National Assembly would rather be a rubber stamp and play dumb because they do not want to go through the harrowing experience that Saraki went through.

“I could have agreed with everything the Presidency under Buhari wanted and cut deals with them all the way. I would have been a good ally.

“Thus, when I read posts on social media or stories in the traditional media criticising the current National Assembly and praising our tenure, I just shrug my shoulders and feel unconcerned.

“This is a big failure of followership, and it is an enabler for the continuous failure of leadership.

“These sad developments are indications that our institutions are weak. Instead of building institutions, we are building strong men and women.” (Daily Sun)