Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of deliberately obstructing and harassing the 8th National Assembly, preventing the passage of significant legislation that would have benefited Nigerians.

Speaking at the 2025 Reunion Gala of the King's College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) in Houston, Texas, Saraki reflected on his tumultuous tenure as Senate President between 2015 and 2019, describing how executive interference undermined legislative independence.

"The legislature under my leadership was silenced, harassed, assaulted, bullied, and blackmailed, and the executive deliberately frustrated the passage of good laws, initiatives, and recommendations that would have been highly beneficial to our society," Saraki stated in his speech, which was shared by his spokesperson, Yusuf Olaniyonu.

Saraki lamented the lack of public support during these challenges, noting that "the elite and ordinary people kept quiet, were nonchalant, and stayed aloof" while the legislature faced continuous pressure from the executive branch.

According to the former Senate President, this experience has had lasting consequences on Nigeria's legislative independence. "Now, years after we left office, subsequent leadership of the National Assembly would rather be a rubber stamp and play dumb because they do not want to go through the harrowing experience that Saraki went through," he explained.

Saraki specifically highlighted how the executive sabotaged an amendment to the Public Procurement Act that would have prioritized Nigerian-made goods and services to boost the local economy. He claimed the bill failed due to political interference connected to the 2019 election season.

"If I had agreed with everything the Presidency under Buhari wanted, I would have been hailed as a loyalist and ally," Saraki remarked. "I could have cut deals all the way."

The former Senate leader also addressed Nigeria's broader leadership crisis, arguing that many elected officials enter office without clear plans or visions, instead relying on recycled ideas from what he termed "government scammers."

"This is a big failure of followership, and it is an enabler for the continuous failure of leadership," he stated. "These sad developments are indications that our institutions are weak. Instead of building institutions, we are building strong men and women."

Saraki's rocky relationship with the Buhari administration began in 2015 when he defied the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership to become Senate President with support from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). His tenure was marked by numerous court cases widely considered politically motivated, particularly after his defection to the PDP, when the APC unsuccessfully attempted to remove him from office.