....You are wrong, Saraki- Buhari fires back!
Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, Monday, raised the alarm that some selfish individuals within
the corridors of power have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue
their nefarious agenda.
His declaration came as a
reaction to his arraignment, alongside his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and
other principal officers of the Senate over alleged forgery of the Senate
Standing Rules.
In a statement personally signed
by Saraki, he said “Today, we the leaders of the Nigerian Senate reiterate our
innocence against the charges filed by the Attorney General of the Federal
Government of Nigeria at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on the
allegations of forgery of the Senate Standing Rules document.
In our view, the charges filed by
the Attorney General represent a violation of the principle of the Separation
of Powers between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as enshrined
in our Constitution. Furthermore, it is farcical to allege that a criminal act
occurred during Senate procedural actions and the mere suggestion demonstrates
a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General. These trumped up
charges is only another phase in the relentless persecution of the leadership
of the Senate
This misguided action by the
Attorney General begs the question, how does this promote the public interest
and benefit the nation? At a time when the whole of government should be
working together to meet Nigeria’s many challenges, we are once again distracted
by the Executive Branch’s inability to move beyond a leadership election among
Senate peers. It was not an election of Senate peers and Executive Branch
participants.
Over the past year the Senate has
worked to foster good relations with the Executive Branch. It is in all of our
collective interests to put aside divisions and get on with the nation’s
business. We risk alienating and losing the support of the very people who have
entrusted their national leaders to seek new and creative ways to promote a
secure and prosperous Nigeria. As leaders and patriots, it is time to rise
above partisanship and to move forward together.
However, what has become clear is
that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari who
have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.
This latest onslaught on the
Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians
fought hard to win and preserve. The suit filed on behalf of the Federal
government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not
fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the
legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.
Let it be abundantly clear, both
as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all
the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me. In the words of
Martin Luther King Junior, “the ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of
challenge and controversy”.
I will remain true and committed
to the responsibilities that my citizenship and my office impose on me. Without
doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to
surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate.
This is a cross I am prepared to carry. If yielding to the nefarious agenda of
a few individuals who are bent in undermining our democracy and destabilising
the Federal government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to
losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall
be a happy guest.”
No cabal has hijacked my government
– Buhari replies Saraki
President Muhammadu Buhari has
faulted Senate President Bukola Saraki over his claim that a cabal has hijacked
the government.
Buhari in a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said the allegation was a mere
invention of Saraki and “is not even worth the paper on which it was written,
as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep, and say anything”.
According to the President, “This
claim by Senator Saraki would have been more worth the while, if it had been
backed with more information. If he had proceeded to identify those who
constitute the ‘government within the government,’ it would have taken the
issue beyond the realm of fiction and mere conjecture.
“But as it stands, the allegation
is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a
troubled sleep, and say anything.
“The Attorney-General of the
Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the state. It is within his
constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law, and who has
not.
“Pretending to carry an imaginary
cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed, a criminal act has been committed. But
we leave the courts to judge.
“To claim that President
Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous, but also
preposterous. It is not in the character of our President”.
Buhari was reacting to Saraki’s
claims after he was charged before a Federal High Court in Abuja, for allegedly
forging the Senate rules used for his election and that of his Deputy, Senator
Ike Ekweremadu, last year June 9.
Saraki, who boasted that he was
ready to go to jail, said what was going on right now portended danger for
Nigeria’s democracy, because in his view, the independence of the legislature
had been jettisoned with the alleged forgery trial.
DAILY POST
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