The Nation newspaper has pulled down a page, which by its title is critical of the President Muhammad Buhari and the newly elected Senate president Bukola Saraki, for their alleged roles in the election of National Assembly leaders.
The writeup titled, 49PDP + 8APC + 1Buhari = Saraki’s anti-party, anti-democratic ‘coup’ of impunity, which was featured in the Google News portal was ostensibly pulled down a few hours after it was posted.
The Vintage Press, publisher of The Nation newspaper, is owned by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was outwitted by some powerful interest groups within All Progressives Congress, who are said to be unamused by Tinubu’s overbearing grip on the party, which he ostensibly wants to extend to the government.
People who are close to the Tinubu said that the man is terribly miffed by the development in the National Assembly, which he sees as an attempt by some people to pull the rug from under his feet so soon after he had piloted the move that saw to the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan at March 28, polls.
The thinking in the Tinubu camp, the Rainbow learnt, is that Saraki and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is seen as the architect of the dramatic events that saw to Saraki’s emergence as the Senate President are working in cahoot with the President.
They point particularly to the quick reaction of the President to the development in the National Assembly and the tactical endorsement of the new leaders, which undercut the reaction of All Progressives Congress rejecting Saraki as Senate President and Dogara as Speaker of House of Representatives.
It was not clear why the story was pulled down, but a reporter at the Nation acknowledged he saw the development
as strange. He talked about the possibility that it was pulled on the orders of Tinubu, who though aggrieved, would not want to be seen to be antagonizing Buhari government so soon.
Attempts to reach the editor of the newspaper Mr. Gbenga Omotosho before press time proved abortive, but an editor in the paper who would not want to be named acknowledged the changing mood of the paper towards Buhari.
