Election Face-Off Lingers As Buhari, Saraki Shun Each Other On Birthday

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, shunned former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on his 57th birthday.
Similarly, Saraki was silent as the nation’s leader clocked 77 years old earlier on Tuesday.
A reason for this might be ascribed to events and circumstances before and during Nigeria’s 2019 keenly-contested elections.
It would be recalled that the duo and the arms of government they led from 2015 till 2019 were mostly in the news for animosity.
It was an open secret that Buhari and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila (as against Saraki and Yakubu Dogara who eventually emerged) as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, respectively.
As fate would have it, Lawan from Yobe and Gbaja, as fondly called, are occupying the exalted positions today.
In 2018, Saraki, despite surviving alleged attempts by the presidency to impeach him, greeted the president on his birthday.
He tweeted, “Happy Birthday to President Muhammadu Buhari and many happy returns”.
In 2017, Buhari felicitated with the former Kwara State Governor.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, iBuhari commended Saraki for his commitment to peace of Nigeria.
He said “The President believes that at 55, and having served as a two-term governor, senator and Senate President, Dr Saraki has demonstrated commitment in the pursuit of a prosperous, united and peaceful Nigeria.
“President Buhari prays that God Almighty will grant him more years of good health, wisdom and fulfillment in the service of God and country,”