Contrary to the generally held belief that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo trip to meet Buhari was secretly planned and concealed from members of a shady group of presidential political manipulators who exploited the absence of ailing Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari to create internal crisis, the group had known about the trip and sent the Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami to Buhari in advance as a means of sabotaging his trip. His trip was on Monday while Osinbajo was on Tuesday.
The cabal was in a panic over the news from his doctors, who have ruled out Mr. Buhari’s return to Nigeria this month (July), as earlier projected by the clique.
Malami, our sources stated spent five minutes with Buhari before quietly returning to Nigeria unannounced. It was not clear if the short but uneventful trip achieved any purpose
The Attorney General of the Federation, Malami, was the cabal’s nominee for Vice President should Buhari fail to return to work due to ill health.
Last week, the AGF was cut off from a meeting of the “National Prosecution Committee,” which he had set up at the inception of the Buhari regime, with the Acting President. That action incensed Mr. Malami, who now fears that Mr. Osinbajo may remove him from office in the absence of President Buhari. Sources say the AGF called for the files of high-profile cases in the country and threatened he would sabotage them by filing a “Nolle Prosequi” should the Ag. president continue to sideline him.
Members of the Buhari cabal are apprehensive that Ag. President Osinbajo is consolidating his hold on power, considering the appointments he has made, and his focused work as Acting President.
The President who left for the United Kingdom abruptly on May 7, shuttles between two hospitals, one outside London and the other one within the city, occasionally returning to “Abuja House” where he recuperates when his treatment is less intense.
The Nigerian government has still not disclosed the nature of Mr. Buhari’s treatment, but it has since May 8 left his presidential jet parked at the London Stansted Airport, to where it was flown from Luton Airport.
The family of President Buhari, led by his wife, raised public expectations on Monday when she released a statement on Facebook claiming the answers of “weaker animals have been answered and that Hyenas and Jackals will be kicked out of the kingdom”.
Her cryptic message did not disclose Mr. Buhari’s condition, nor did she say if or when he will return to Nigeria after almost 10 weeks in the UK. Although Mrs. Buhari traveled to the UK reportedly to see her husband. Saharareporters learnt she rented a separate apartment in London for the duration of her stay and only met President Buhari in Abuja House for dinner.
While her Facebook posting was being circulated, President Buhari’s recently married daughter, Zahra Indimi, also sent out a tweet in which she said, “Afternoon Nigeria….”
The message appeared to infuriate Nigerians on tweeter, as they bombarded her with questions and insults. She later responded to one of the questions about her father’s health, asserting that he was doing “pretty good”.
SaharaReporters learnt from presidency sources that persons going into Abuja House to visit President Buhari, his wife included, are thoroughly searched and prevented from going in with a mobile phone. Mrs. Buhari has not released any photos of her meeting with the President since arriving in London, however, she released a photo of herself attending a memorial event for Prof. Osotimilehin in London where she gave a brief speech. She made no mention of President Buhari’s health.
The cabal had earlier queued behind Senate President Bukola Saraki to frustrate and sabotage the Ag. President. That plot came to a head when Saraki, believing Mr. Osinbajo to be out of the country, plotted with some other Senators to declare him “Acting President.”
Unknown to him, the Acting President had returned from Ethiopia, where he had attended an African Union summit.
Following the exposure of their desperate moves, the cabal began to move around the north to whip up ethnic and religious sentiments against Mr. Osinbajo. On his part, Saraki has in the past two weeks twice met with the Acting President to explain his side of the story, the first at the behest of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun.
Also, on Sunday, Saraki flew from Lagos for a late-night meeting with Mr. Osinbajo, in the company of the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara. Saraki is said to be losing the support of some Senators in his latest quest for power, but to shore up his base and reward core loyalists, he threatened to rejig committees in the Senate.
Also, to curb the backlash that resulted from his wild ambitions, he began pushing the Senate Whip, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, to defend him and his colleagues, trying to take advantage of Prof. Adeyeye’s credible image as a man who hails from the same Southwest region as the Ag. president.
Our presidency source said that in order to beat a possible backlash of President Buhari spending three months in London and the attendant consequences of the pressure which might come from the public, the cabal will soon announce that he will be going on his annual leave and keep hoping that he can make it to Nigeria sometime in August to help them keep power.
