‘My Closeness With Buhari Not Friendship, But Just Politics’ – Ex-Minister, Umaru Dembo

Former Minister of Petroleum, Umaru Dembo in a recent interview defined his relationship with former President, Muhammadu Buhari.

Naija News reports that Dembo in an interview with Daily Trust disclosed that his relationship with Buhari is based on politics and not friendship.

The ex-minister who disclosed that he met Buhari in 2003 when he commenced his journey into politics, however, said he was ignored when Buhari came into power.

According to Dembo, he is not angry with Buhari for not giving him an appointment because Allah made it like that.

Dembo while narrating how he met the ex-president said, “I was in politics before Buhari, but the coincidence is that in 2003 I met Buhari in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He was thinking at that time, trying to get into politics. He gave me his phone number and said I could meet him anytime every Sunday.

“He gave me his number and said I could meet him in Nigeria every Sunday, and since then I think most of the Sundays I was with him. If I couldn’t be with him there must be some communication, maybe we must have met, or we would meet the following day.

“Politics. Unfortunately, it was not defined like you just did now, because if we had defined it, I would not have suffered what I suffered with him. We were doing the best for him and his government, but I never got within an inch of his government.”

Speaking on how he was ignored when Buhari came into power, he said, “I was never involved, not a thing, not in business, not in appointment, but as one would say, Allah made it like that. I have no quarrel with him or anybody.”