Bukola Saraki
Abubakar Bukola Saraki was born on December 19, 1962. He is the current serving Senate President of Nigeria. He was previously a Governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011. He was first elected to the Senate in April 2011, representing the Kwara Central senatorial district, and re-elected in the March 2015 elections. He was two-time governor of Kwara State before moving to the senate. During his second term as governor of Kwara, Saraki was elected by his fellow governors as the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum.
Saraki is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and previous member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Saraki is also a medical doctor. He worked as a medical officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex, from 1988 to 1989.
He was a director of Société Générale Bank (Nig) Ltd from 1990 to 2000.
In 2000, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Saraki as Special Assistant to the President on Budget. Saraki also served on the Economic Policy Coordination Committee, where he was responsible for the formulation and implementation of several key economic policies for Nigeria.
Saraki attended King's College, Lagos, from 1973 to 1978, and Cheltenham College, Cheltenham, London from 1979 to 1981 for his High School Certificate. He then studied at the London Hospital Medical College of the University of London from 1982 to 1987, where he obtained his M.B.B.S (London).
In 2003, he became the governor of Kwara, after contesting and wining the election under the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He ran again for re-election in 2007 and won his second term. As governor of Kwara, he led reforms in agriculture, health, education, finance and environment policy. One of his major achievements was inviting displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara State and offering them an opportunity to farm. This led to the establishment of Shonga Farms programme, which is now being replicated across Nigeria.
After his re-election into the senate in 2015 general elections, Saraki was on 9 June 2015 elected unopposed as President of the Senate by an across the party alliance comprising PDP and APC Senators. Saraki had faced stiff opposition from Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan who was a preferred candidate by a group of senators-elect within the APC. His deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, emerged after a tightly contested election using a forged senate standing order.
The Code of Conduct Bureau cited a 13-count charge of corruption against Saraki. In charge number ABT/01/15, dated September 11, 2015 and filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Saraki was accused of offences ranging from anticipatory declaration of assets to making false declaration of assets in forms Saraki had filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau while he was governor of Kwara state. He was also accused of failing to declare some assets he acquired while in office as governor, acquiring assets beyond his legitimate earnings, and accused of operating foreign accounts while being a public officer.
An official of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Peter Danladi, stated in a court affidavit that the investigation of the various petitions of corruption, theft, money laundering, among others, against Saraki in 2010, was conducted jointly by the officials of the EFCC, CCB and the DSS. “The EFCC conducted its investigation on the various petitions and made findings which showed that the defendant/applicant abused his office, while he was the governor of Kwara State and was involved in various acts of corruption as the governor of the state. The defendant/applicant borrowed huge sums of money running into billions from commercial banks, particularly Guaranty Trust Bank, and used the proceeds of the loan to acquire several landed properties in Lagos, Abuja and London, while he was the governor of Kwara State.
Following this, Bukola Saraki became the first Senate President in Nigeria to be issued with arrest warrants, when Danladi Umar, Chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal, issued an arrest warrant against Saraki on September 18, 2015.
On Wednesday, June 14th, 2017, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) sitting in Abuja discharged and acquitted the Senate President Bukola Saraki, in the 18 count charge of corruption in the false declaration of assets charge brought against him in September 2015 by the federal government.
Saraki is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and previous member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Saraki is also a medical doctor. He worked as a medical officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex, from 1988 to 1989.
He was a director of Société Générale Bank (Nig) Ltd from 1990 to 2000.
In 2000, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Saraki as Special Assistant to the President on Budget. Saraki also served on the Economic Policy Coordination Committee, where he was responsible for the formulation and implementation of several key economic policies for Nigeria.
Saraki attended King's College, Lagos, from 1973 to 1978, and Cheltenham College, Cheltenham, London from 1979 to 1981 for his High School Certificate. He then studied at the London Hospital Medical College of the University of London from 1982 to 1987, where he obtained his M.B.B.S (London).
In 2003, he became the governor of Kwara, after contesting and wining the election under the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He ran again for re-election in 2007 and won his second term. As governor of Kwara, he led reforms in agriculture, health, education, finance and environment policy. One of his major achievements was inviting displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara State and offering them an opportunity to farm. This led to the establishment of Shonga Farms programme, which is now being replicated across Nigeria. After his re-election into the senate in 2015 general elections, Saraki was on 9 June 2015 elected unopposed as President of the Senate by an across the party alliance comprising PDP and APC Senators. Saraki had faced stiff opposition from Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan who was a preferred candidate by a group of senators-elect within the APC. His deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, emerged after a tightly contested election using a forged senate standing order.
The Code of Conduct Bureau cited a 13-count charge of corruption against Saraki. In charge number ABT/01/15, dated September 11, 2015 and filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Saraki was accused of offences ranging from anticipatory declaration of assets to making false declaration of assets in forms Saraki had filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau while he was governor of Kwara state. He was also accused of failing to declare some assets he acquired while in office as governor, acquiring assets beyond his legitimate earnings, and accused of operating foreign accounts while being a public officer.
An official of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Peter Danladi, stated in a court affidavit that the investigation of the various petitions of corruption, theft, money laundering, among others, against Saraki in 2010, was conducted jointly by the officials of the EFCC, CCB and the DSS. “The EFCC conducted its investigation on the various petitions and made findings which showed that the defendant/applicant abused his office, while he was the governor of Kwara State and was involved in various acts of corruption as the governor of the state. The defendant/applicant borrowed huge sums of money running into billions from commercial banks, particularly Guaranty Trust Bank, and used the proceeds of the loan to acquire several landed properties in Lagos, Abuja and London, while he was the governor of Kwara State.
Following this, Bukola Saraki became the first Senate President in Nigeria to be issued with arrest warrants, when Danladi Umar, Chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal, issued an arrest warrant against Saraki on September 18, 2015.
On Wednesday, June 14th, 2017, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) sitting in Abuja discharged and acquitted the Senate President Bukola Saraki, in the 18 count charge of corruption in the false declaration of assets charge brought against him in September 2015 by the federal government.
Saraki is married to Toyin (née Ojora) Saraki. They have four children together.
Saraki was made the Turaki of the Fula emirate of Ilorin.Turaki, means an officer at court in Fula or Hausa emirate palace.
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