By Fatima Saka
Abuja, Nigeria – Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi has identified former President Muhammadu Buhari’s excessive trust in his appointees as a major weakness that undermined his administration, despite the late leader’s well-known integrity and influence.
Speaking on Wednesday during Senate deliberations on a motion sponsored by Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, to honor the late president, Ningi, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) representing Bauchi Central, said Buhari’s tendency to over-rely on his appointees without sufficient oversight significantly affected governance under his leadership.
“One of his low points, as far as I’m concerned, was his over-trust in his appointees. He hardly supervised or coached them. That was a major shortfall in his administration,” Ningi told the Senate.
Despite the criticism, the lawmaker praised Buhari’s personal integrity and the dignified state funeral accorded him, describing it as “the first and best of its kind in living memory.”
He also commended the Senate for declaring a one-week non-legislative break to honor the former president, calling it a demonstration of institutional respect for national icons.
Ningi reflected on Buhari’s towering presence in northern Nigerian politics, admitting that the ex-president’s popularity cost him his Senate seat in 2015.
“Buhari was the reason I lost my election in 2015. That myth surrounding him was too strong. Even in 2019, I refused to run again because as long as Buhari was President, it was nearly impossible to contest against that influence in the North,” he said.
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He added that although he wasn’t close to Buhari personally, the former president made inquiries about him, acknowledging his value beyond party lines.
Closing his remarks, Ningi said, “Buhari stood shoulders above many. He was a man of integrity, but not without flaws. May his soul rest in peace.”
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