The plan, he said, was in line with his long-time belief that the younger generations have a lot to contribute to Nigeria’s development.

Saraki stated this when some young supporters raise N40 million for his Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.

Announcing his plans in a series of tweets on his Twitter page on Tuesday, Saraki said the youths, who are young professionals that raised the money were convened by Abubakar Danmusa.

He wrote, “Last night, I was truly touched by the gesture of the young professionals convened by Abubakar Danmusa, who helped to raise the N40 million for my Presidential Expression of Interest Form and my Nomination Form.These young people, who went out of their way to rally their friends, family, and coworkers, made contributions of N500,000 to N2 million to reach their desired goal.This symbolic gesture, a first of its kind in the history of our nation, is also a challenge to me. Now, I promise to work twice as hard as I originally intended. I promise to meet the yearning and aspirations of all our young people to run a modern government. As it stands, this is a clarion call. This is why I make this promise.When I become President on the 29th of May 2023, all the Ministers of State in my Cabinet will be experienced young people who are under the age of 35.We have our work cut out for us. But the battle to fix Nigeria has just started!”

Saraki, who is a former governor of Kwara state, was invited for questioning over allegations of misappropriation of funds and money laundering. He arrived at the commission’s office at about 2 pm and is currently being interrogated.

It is not clear if he will be detained overnight.

As senate president between 2015 and 2019, Saraki spent considerable time facing allegations of corruption and false declaration of assets. He was acquitted by the Supreme Court in June 2018.

Atiku in a post shared on his Facebook page, said the police unit which was created to confront violent crimes such as armed robbery and kidnapping, has metamorphosed into a unit that intimidates and harasses Nigerians. He called for an urgent review of SARS operations with a view to flush out the rogue elements in it

He wrote “The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigerian Police was set up to confront violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and other related crimes. However, the unit has today morphed into an oppressor of the Nigerian masses who strive every day for a better life. Reports of intimidation, harassment and outright extortion by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have continued unabated. I strongly condemn their cruel actions against our people, and I urge the government to rise to the occasion and nip this monstrosity in the bud with the seriousness it deserves. It’s expedient that the activities of SARS are reviewed to ensure that the rogue elements are excised from the unit and sanity returned to its operations”

On his part, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, described as ”disheartening’ reports of the continued harassment and illegal arrests and detention of Nigerians particularly young people, by SARS officers. He called on the Federal government to put an end to reprehensible activities of SARS officers.

He wrote “The reports of the continued harassment, illegal arrest, detention and high handedness by rogue cells of SARS against innocent Nigerians – most of them young people – in spite of the efforts to reform the Police & raise standards of policing are disheartening. A situation where the officers of the Police Force become a threat to the lives and property of the citizens they swore to protect is condemnable and unacceptable. I call on the Federal Government to immediately put a stop to these reprehensible activities and restructure the unit to better perform its lawful duties of safeguarding the lives and property of the Nigerian people”

Recall that the EFCC had obtained a court order for the interim forfeiture of the houses – Plots No. 10 and No. 11 Abdulkadir Road, GRA, Ilorin, Kwara State in December 2019. The anti-graft agency alleged that the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities allegedly perpetrated by Saraki while he was Kwara State Governor between 2003 and 2011

Ruling on the case, Justice Rilwan Aikawa who stated that the evidence presented before the court was to the effect that the property was substantially financed with money paid to Saraki as a former governor, in line with the Kwara State Governor and Deputy Governor Payment of Pension Law, said EFCC’s claim of properties being acquired with illegal funds was based on mere suspicion.

APC in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena today July 4, called on the relevant security agencies to investigate the links Hushpuppi had with some PDP stalwarts. The party said the investigation is necessary considering the fact that many of PDP chieftains had several meetings in Dubai ahead of the 2019 general elections.

In a swift reaction, Saraki in a statement released by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, described as irresponsible and cheap politics the statement from APC in which it tried to link him with Hushpuppi.

Saraki in the statement said he has no form of association with the said suspect, Ramon Abbas otherwise known as Hushpuppi and neither does he know him in any way.

The statement says “The statement credited to the APC, the ruling party in our country, is one of the ways by which our anti-graft agencies are weakened and why the fight against corruption in the country is often viewed with suspicion by the international community. This is because when these cyber-crime suspects were operating freely and openly displaying wealth, the APC saw nothing bad in their activities. Also, the party at that time did not deem it necessary to call on the anti-graft agencies to investigate their activities. Also, since the arrest of those cybercrime suspects and the subsequent damage to the image and the economy of Nigeria as well as the crisis it created for Nigerians engaged in lawful businesses across the world, the ruling party had been muted. The only time the APC deemed it necessary to make a statement was when it thought it should play dirty, cheap and irresponsible politics. Dr Saraki was the only political leader who has publicly made a statement through an Op-Ed article published in the Daily Trust newspaper of July 1, 2020, titled “Cyber Criminals: Confronting The Few Who Dent Many” and this opinion article had been widely circulated online and on other platforms. In that article, he strongly condemned the activities of these cybercriminals and called on the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to make decisive interventions to checkmate their activities. He has also got a research institution, the Politeia Institute, whose board he chairs to commence research on the best ways to tackle the menace. Such a noble intervention in tackling a menace is what Dr Saraki believes in, not mudslinging and playing politics at the expense of the nation’s image. At this point, we call on the APC leadership to rein in the so-called Yekini Nabena and compel him to desist from making and circulating such malicious, odious and offensive claims”

The former Senate President who welcomed Obaseki to the PDP said he ignored Oshiomhole’s verbal attack because he knew “a day would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market.”

He said in a statement released on Friday, June 19 “I also thank Obaseki’s colleagues, the PDP Governors, for their role and for ensuring that while bringing him into the party, they carried along with the local chapter and refrain from just unilaterally taking decisions without the input of the leaders of the party in Edo State. The process our Governors adopted in working with the local chapter to bring in the Governor is a better approach than the system in many of the other parties where the National Working Committee (NWC) would simply just give him a membership card. That is why my appeal will, at this point, go to all of us, the leaders and stakeholders, who gave assurances that agreement will be honoured, we need to ensure that the NWC of our party plays its own supervisory role by making sure that those agreements entered into by the Governor and the local chapter should be kept, particularly since I am very sure they are all lawful and in the interest of peace and development of the state. That is the only way to keep our integrity intact. At this point, it will be odd if I fail to comment on the situation that led to the change of party by Governor Obaseki. While I have kept my cool and ignored all the verbal attacks directed at me by the suspended chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adams Oshiomhole, I have always known that a day like this would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market. The truth is always constant and no matter how far falsehood travels, the truth will catch up with it one day. Oshiomhole can fool people for a long time but he cannot fool the people all the time. What is happening to him now is a moment of truth. This same man who was garrulously proclaiming the end of the political career of some other people is now about to meet his Waterloo. He has continued to use his mouth to divide his party and I believe there is a lesson for all politicians to learn from the fate of the suspended APC chairman. No autocrat can successfully pretend to be a Democrat. The true character of a man will come out one day”.

Dr Alfa Saadu’s death was announced on Facebook by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

The Facebook post shared by Saraki to mourn Dr Saadu reads “Inalilahi Wa Ina Ilaehi Rajiun. My condolences go to the family of late Dr Alfa Sa’adu, the people of Pategi and Kwara State on the death of the foremost medical practitioner who passed away in London this morning (March 31). Late Dr Sa’adu provided leadership for our people in the diaspora as he served for many years as chairman, Kwara State Association of Nigeria (Kwasang UK). Back at home, he was a community leader and traditional office holder as Galadima of Pategi. He will be sorely missed. We pray that Allah forgives his sins and grant him a place in Aljannah Firdaus. May Allah also grant his family, the people of Pategi and Kwara State the fortitude to bear the loss”

In his reaction, Saraki said “Following the development this morning in Ile Arugbo, I want to commend the women and men, old and young, who displayed their affection, love and staunch support for my late father and the family. I appreciate the genuine support of the women and youths who stood firmly in the face of aggression and naked show of force. Your action throughout the night gave full expression to my belief that what Ile Arugbo represents to all of us is etched in our hearts. It goes beyond the physical structure. I am happy that you were not intimidated as you stood your ground. This day will go down as the day you reciprocated the love and affection my father and family have for you. You have displayed a gesture of goodwill and passionate love. We assure you that justice shall prevail in a not too distant future”.

However, Ibrahim Salman, director-general of the bureau of lands, in a statement on Wednesday, refuted this claim. He said “The entire land was acquired in the 1970s for Overriding Public Interest and same was initially designed to host the phase II of the State Secretariat. The construction of the said State Secretariat Phase II was actually commenced and it was at superstructure level before same was abandoned. The entire land was later redesigned in the 1980s for the construction of a Civil Service Clinic, State Secretariat, and a parking lot for both the Clinic and the State Secretariat. The Clinic was subsequently constructed in 1982, while the remaining plots of land were conceived for the expansion of the Clinic into a full-fledged Hospital. The dream of the State Government was stalled when part of the land slated for the parking lot was spuriously allocated in principle to one Asa Investment for commercial purpose. From available records, the allocation was not based on a formal application, nor application forms filled; there was no evidence of payment for the said allocation as stipulated in the letter of allocation in principle and consequently, no right of occupancy was ever issued to the Company. Furthermore, in flagrant abuse of the allocation terms, the company took possession of the land and constructed what is today known as “Ile Arugbo” on part of the land that was designed as parking lot and later conceived to host the expansion of the Civil Service Clinic into a full-fledged Hospital.”

Chief Press Secretary to Kwara Governor, Rafiu Ajakaiye announced the decision Friday, December 27th saying the land was originally meant for Government Secretariat and parking space of the Civil Service Clinic, but was unlawfully allocated to a private firm, Asa Investments Limited, without any record of payment to the state government.

The revocation order read: “In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 1999 and Section 1 and 28 of the Land Use Act Cap. L.5 of 2004 and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Governor of Kwara State of Nigeria, give the following notice: The Notice may be cited as the Land Use (Revocation of Right of Occupancy and withdrawal of allocation) Notice, 2019. Allocation of plots of land 1, 3 and 5 TPS/MISC 129 to Asa Investment (Nig) Ltd. which is meant for the Kwara State Secretariat. The land, specifically and more described in survey No. KwSH 927 and Land/G1071 situated and lying beside Civil Service Clinic on Ilofa Road Ilorin, Kwara State, is hereby revoked and withdrawn for overriding public interest for use of the purpose it is originally meant for:  The construction of Kwara State Secretariat; parking space for civil service clinic and the Kwara State Secretariat and annex to the Civil Service when upgraded to a hospital. That the plots allocated are hereby declared void. Notice is therefore given to you, Asa Investments Nigeria Limited, that the plots of land 1, 3 and 5 TPS/MISC 129 allocated to you and any title on the land whatsoever are hereby revoked and the allocation is withdrawn for overriding public interest”.