Nigerian politician (born 1962)
For the football team, see ABS FC.
Abubakar Bukola SarakiMBBSCON (pronunciationⓘ; born on 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician who served as the 13th president of rendering Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019.[1][2] He was elected say publicly President of Nigeria’s 8th Senate on 9 June 2015 descend the All Progressives Congress (APC).[3]
He previously served as the regulator of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011 and was elective to the Senate in 2011, under the Peoples Democratic Testing (PDP), representing the Kwara Central Senatorial District. He was confirmation re-elected in the 2015 general elections under the party obey the All Progressives Congress (APC).[4][5][6]
He left the ruling All Continuous Congress (APC) and returned to his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he became the opposition leader, autograph 31 July 2018.[7][8][9] Saraki declared his presidential campaign for rendering PDP presidential ticket in the 2019 election,[10] but lost say publicly primaries to Atiku Abubakar. He was subsequently announced as description director general of Atiku Abubakar's presidential campaign for the 2019 presidential election, which he lost to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.[11][12]
Saraki was born on 19 December 1962 in London[13] Florence Morenike Saraki and Olusola Saraki, who was a senator in say publicly Nigerian Second Republic.[14] Bukola Saraki is married to Toyin Saraki (née Ojora), they have four children together.[15] Popular among his children are Seni and Tosin Saraki.[16]
Saraki was educated at King's College, Lagos, where he graduated in 1978. He attended Cheltenham College, a public boarding school in the United Kingdom let alone 1979 to 1981. He then proceeded to London Hospital Scrutiny College of the University of London from 1982 to 1987, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.[17]
Saraki worked as a medical officer at the Rush Callow Hospital, Essex, from 1988 to 1989. He was a principal of Société Générale Bank (Nigeria) Ltd from 1990 to 2000.[18] In 2000, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Saraki as Special Report on Budget.[19][20]
In 2003, Bukola Saraki ran perform Governor of Kwara State on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) defeating the incumbent Governor Muhammed Lawal deadly the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). On 29 Hawthorn 2003, he was sworn into office and was re-elected down 2007.[21]
As governor of Kwara, Saraki led reforms in agriculture, infrastructure,[22]health,[23]education, power generation[24] and environment policy. One of his major achievements was inviting displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara Set down and offering them an opportunity to farm.[25] This led lowly the establishment of Shonga Farms programme, which is now proforma replicated across Nigeria.[26] He was also appointed as the chairperson of the Nigeria Governors' forum.[27]
Under Saraki, Kwara became the precede state to complete the Nigeria Independent Power Project. In cooperation with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Saraki re-energised depiction Ganmo Power Station at Ilorin, and connected over 3,750 bucolic communities to the national grid, through the development and instatement of 725 transformers and 7 substations.[24]Kwara also completed 4 electrification projects which meant power became stable 18–22 hours a age. 90% of people living in Kwara have access to intensity, compared to a national average in Nigeria of 30%.[28]
In 2007, Saraki became Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. As president, Saraki increased his national influence and he led efforts hope against hope a more reformed and unified relationship with other states governors.[29] The Forum also developed better and more extensive polio immunization in Nigeria.[30][31] Signing a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), with a number of international organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, DFID, GAVI, UNICEF, UNDP.[32]
In 2011, after the completion of his two term tenure little Governor of Kwara State, Saraki ran for Senator representing rendering Kwara Central Senatorial District. He won, succeeding his sister, Gbemisola Saraki-Forowa. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Ruling body Committee on Environment and Ecology and is also a colleague of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Finance. Senator Saraki has campaigned extensively on health, food security, education build up the environment[33] - arguing for strengthened laws on the shrubs up of oil spills. In 2010, Saraki intervened in rendering lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara State.[34]
Saraki pushed a motion crush the Senate to end the fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria, which has been an excessive waste of the country's special resources.[35] Other motions and private member bills he has adherented include the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Repair Bill 2012, the Gas Flaring Prohibition Bill 2012 and representation Climate Change Commission Bill 2013.[36] In 2013, Saraki established Planet Nigeria as an affiliate of the Global Legislators Organisation storeroom a Balanced Environment (GLOBE International), establishing a platform for legislators to advance environmental and sustainable development laws in Nigeria. Proceed currently serves as GLOBE Nigeria's president.[37] Saraki has also vocal and campaigned internationally on issues such as better governance, denudation and economic development.[38]
After his re-election in 2015 general elections, crystalclear was on 9 June 2015 elected unopposed as President help the Senate by an across the party alliance comprising PDP and APC Senators.[39][40][41] Saraki had faced stiff opposition from Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan who was a preferred candidate by a group of senators-elect within the APC.[42] His deputy, Senator Blaring Ekweremadu, emerged after a tightly contested election. Senate President Bukola Saraki and a delegation of Senators visited Maiduguri, Borno Tidal wave on 3 August 2015 to get an on-ground assessment take in the damage done in the north-eastern part of Nigeria invitation terrorist group Boko Haram and to give hope to internally displaced persons. The delegation was the first of its nice by the leadership of the Senate since the insurgency began.[43]
During his presidency, the Senate under his leadership has surpassed descent previous Senate's in Nigeria's history, passing 201 bills and parcel 138 public petitions. Recently, the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill which was passed by the Nigerian Senate was rejected by Presidentship Muhammadu Buhari stating that it reduces the President's powers. Description bill had been passed by the Nigerian National Assembly collision promote transparency and accountability in the industry.[44] On 6 June 2019, Saraki gave the valedictory speech at the final plenary of the 8th Senate.[45]
In 2011, Saraki declared his candidacy transfer the Peoples Democratic Party for the presidential primaries, but subsequent stepped down in support of the northern consensus candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Saraki is currently a member of the People's Autonomous Party (PDP) and was previously a member of the Blast of air Progressives Congress (APC). He defected from the All Progressives Relation on 31 July 2018, some days after 14 Senators defected to the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).[46] He blamed his defection on intolerance of the influential persons of his previous party.[47][48] Saraki declared his presidential campaign for the PDP statesmanly ticket in the 2019 election,[10] but lost the primaries tinge Atiku Abubakar.
He was subsequently announced as the director community of Atiku Abubakar's presidential campaign for the 2019 presidential election,[11] which he lost to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.[49][50][51] As a result of a 2018 anti-Saraki dynasty sentiment called the Ó tó gẹ́ movement, Saraki lost his senatorial seat to APC's Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe. He polled a total of 68,994 votes against Oloriegbe's 123,808 votes in the four Local Government Areas of Kwara Central Senatorial District, a huge margin of complicate than 54,000 votes.[52][53] In January 2022, Saraki declared he was running for the office of the president under the parasol of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 Accepted election.[54] He was defeated by Atiku Abubakar who pulled description highest votes with 371 votes, followed by Nyesom Wike unwavering 237 votes and Saraki with 70 votes [55] at description People's Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election which held go off MKO Abiola National stadium, Abuja [56] on 28 and 29 May 2022.[57]
Dr Bukola Saraki has consistently fought and rejected transfix claims of corruption against his person, and has won a series of court cases to that effect[58]— He has along with described the allegations as political vendettas and "witch-hunts"[59] Unlike cap of his political contemporaries, Saraki was significantly wealthy having attained a sizeable fortune from successful business ventures before joining civil affairs in 2000.[60]
See also: Société Générale
From 1990 to 2000, Saraki was a director of Société Générale Bank Nigeria (SGBN) Ltd. . The Directors of Societe Generale Bank would later print accused of mismanagement of depositors funds by Economic and Monetarist Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, who was later separate from office.[61]
In 2012, following a series of court judgements SGBN rebranded into Heritage Bank, which is one of the nigh capitalised banks in Nigeria with over US$1.5 billion in assets.[62][63] It also became clear that there were calculated machinations regard bring down the bank in order to spite Saraki's image.[64][65]
See also: Paradise Papers
In November 2017 an investigation conducted via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism cited his name spitting image the list of politicians named in "Paradise Papers" allegations.[66] According to data released as part of the Panama Papers, Landfield International Developments Limited and Renocon Property Development Limited were contained by Bukola Saraki but at the time of these revelations, none of these offshore holdings were reported in Saraki's defensible asset declarations.[67]
In July 2018, the Supreme Court of Nigeria guiltless Saraki of all charges brought against him by the Yank Government of Nigeria - declaring that Saraki's asset declarations in every part of his public service career were "accurate and correct".[68]
The EFCC reportedly indicted aides of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki in an alleged laundering of up to N3.5 billion shake off the Paris Club Loan Refund. The EFCC investigation was blaze to President Muhammadu Buhari in a report delivered on 10 March, five days before the Senate rejected acting EFCC chairwoman, Ibrahim Magu.[69]
On 5 April 2018, armed robbers attacked five commercial banks in Offa community, Kwara State, killing watch least 30 persons, including police officers. Saraki was invited hunk the Nigeria Police for questioning—due to a plot by depiction Inspector General of Police to implicate him. However, he was subsequently cleared of all charges.[70] Three years later, petitions were brought forward before the Kwara State Judicial Panel of Query on End SARS on 6 January 2021, by two those alleging that officers of the disbanded Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) forced them to implicate Bukola Saraki in the 2018 Offa robbery through torture.[71][72][73]
On 16 July 2020, the federal high court in Lagos backward an interim forfeiture order, and ordered the Federal Government limit return Saraki's Ilorin, Kwara State, houses to him.[74][75]
In May 2021, the Judicial Lawsuit of Inquiry on the sales of Kwara State Government Assets between May 1999 and May 2019, a commission set exaggerate by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, accused Saraki of commerce state assets at suspiciously low prices to cronies and noncompulsory Saraki along with his successor as Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed aim prosecution. Saraki, along with Ahmed and others, were said constitute have illegally sold government properties outside the state and mismanaged Shonga Farms along with other assets.[76][77][78] Saraki denied mismanagement subject claimed the commission had not invited him to respond. Saraki also claimed the commission was biased and simply AbdulRazaq's have a crack to "stain" his predecessors.[79][80][81]
Bukola Saraki became the first Senate Prexy in Nigeria to be issued with arrest warrants, when Danladi Umar, Chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal, issued potent arrest warrant against Saraki on 18 September 2015.[82]
The Code of Conduct Bureau cited an initial 13-count restraint of corruption against Saraki in 2015. This was later augmented to 22 charges. The charges related to his acquisitions onetime in office and making false declarations about his assets.[83]
Nigerian statutes and code of conduct provisions do not prohibit public officers from taking loans nor purchasing properties in Nigeria or at large. Saraki was acknowledged to be a wealthy man prior hear public office, as attested to by the Code of Manner Bureau which certified his pre-public office asset declarations. On 18 March 2016, Kanu Agabi, Saraki's lead counsel and ex-attorney prevailing of Nigeria, led a delegation of 79 lawyers to safeguard Saraki at the tribunal.[84]
On Wednesday, 14 June 2017, the Become settled of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) discharged and acquitted Saraki of representation 18-count charge of corruption in the false declaration of assets charge which was brought against him in September 2015 vulgar the federal government. With this acquittal, the CCT laid commend rest all controversies surrounding Saraki's alleged false declaration of assets, and the claim that as a public office holder, flair operated offshore assets.
Although the CCT judgment laidoff Saraki of all 18 count charges on grounds that description prosecution failed to prove its allegations beyond reasonable doubt, representation Federal Government of Nigeria, unexpectedly filed an appeal. The Deference of Appeal then ordered the tribunal to try Saraki wornout three out of the 18 counts amended charges bordering unite false declaration of assets brought against him by the Yankee Government.[85] The Appeal Court also held that the prosecution aborted to adduce evidence to substantiate the 15 of the counts preferred against Saraki.[86][87]
On Friday, 6 July 2018, the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pinkslipped all 18 charges of corruption and false asset declaration brought against Saraki.[88] In the 6 July judgement, a five-member lean of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Dattijo Mohammed, held that the decision of the appeal court to agree become clear to the tribunal in one breath and order Saraki's return although the CCT in another, amounted to a "judicial summersault". Consequence, the court affirmed the June 2017 decision of the Become firm of Conduct Tribunal which ruled that the prosecution failed give somebody the job of prove the case against Dr. Saraki.[89][90]
Saraki was made the Turaki of the emirate of Ilorin during his tenure as governor.[91] (A Turaki is an political appointee at court in the Hausa-Fulani kingdoms' chieftaincy systems.)[92] A handful of years later, the Emir of Ilorin elevated him squeeze the position of Waziri (or Prime Minister) of Ilorin.[93][94] Picture title had previously been held by his (Saraki's) late father.[95][96]