By Fola James
For the first time since he came out of detention, Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan has reacted to allegations that he betrayed his former boss for President Muhamamdu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.
‘I never campaigned for APC or Buhari as NSA to President Jonathan,’ the former NSA said on Sunday.
Dasuki described the claim that he worked against Jonathan’s re-election “as being recklessly insinuated by mischief makers on their blogs and in the social media.”
Buhari defeated Jonathan in that election and reports claimed that some power individuals in his party, PDP, including Dasuki did not do enough to get him a win in the keenly contested election.
For instance, a former Governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, following the defeat of the PDP in the election, named a former chairman of the party Adamu Muazu as one of those that frustrated Jonathan re-election.
The former president has also admitted that he lost the election because some of those close to him worked for the APC.
Muazu has, however denied he worked against his party’s interests.
According to a statement on Sunday, Dasuki who was put under house arrest for four years, by the Buhari administration for allegedly mismanaging over $2 billion security fund, allocated to his office for purchase of weapons to fight Boko Haram, said he did not campaign for Buhari.
The ex-NSA said it has become expedient for him to put the record straight following media reports that he was among the fifth columnists in Jonathan’s administration.
He said his relationship with Buhari after the 2011 presidential election was only personal and not political.
Dasuki claimed that, “The truth is that I was involved in an attempt at forging an alliance between the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change, among others, prior to the 2011 elections, which was not successful.
My involvement in that political process ended after the elections of 2011.”
Following his appointment as NSA, Dasuki said all that mattered to him was to protect the interest of the former president.
“At the point of accepting the appointment to serve as the National Security Adviser in 2012, I made clear to President Jonathan that I had relationships with General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu of the ACN and Chief Ogbonnaya Onu of the ANPP, among other opposition elements and that my appointment would not cause me to sever the relationship.
I, however, assured him that I would never betray him. As a man of honour, I kept to my words.”
He described the claim of betrayal as spurious and plot by mischief makers to destroy him through damaging media campaigns.
