Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says he was removed as a minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan after he refused to abuse ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki during a campaign in Kwara State.
Bolaji Abdullahi made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of his book, The Loyalist: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice. The ADC spokesman said he was sacked from the federal cabinet in March 2014 because he declined pressure to publicly attack Bukola Saraki during a political campaign in Kwara State.
Abdullahi served as minister of youth development and later minister of sports under the Jonathan administration. He previously worked closely with Saraki when the latter was governor of Kwara State, serving as his special assistant on communication, special adviser on policy, and later as commissioner for education.
While giving a vote of thanks at the event, Abdullahi reflected on the motivation behind the memoir, noting that he began writing the book in 2019 to document how his relationships with key political actors evolved over time. He said the book traces these changes largely through the lens of their interactions with his principal at the time, Saraki, under the theme, ‘HOW I WAS PRESSURED TO ATTACK SARAKI’.