Presidency and Senate Leadership in Verbal Exchange
Category: Nigeria National News
Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is on trial at an Abuja Federal High Court for alleged
forgery of the Senate Rules, has accused the Presidency of being behind his many travails.
In a press statement by the Senate President, he said, “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.
However, the Presidency took no time to debunk and deny the allegation, challenging Saraki to name the cabal in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi
Adesina, said Saraki’s claim would have been more worthwhile if it had
been backed with more information.
He issued a statement, saying: “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, the statement said, is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous.
“It is not in the character of our President,” Adesina added.
Saraki accused the Executive arm of the government of bring up “trumped up’ charges against him.
Saraki in a statement described his trial as a cross he was prepared to carry.
The statement reads: “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 destabilizing 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.
In a similar manner, the Deputy President of the
Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who was arraigned with Saraki on Monday for
alleged forgery of the Senate Order, also alleged that the leadership of the
Senate were being prosecuted by senior officials of Buhari’s government
based on mere rumour.
Ekweremadu, in a statement signed by him
in Abuja, said that vindictiveness and arrogance should not find a
place in the nation’s democracy.
He said, “It is deeply troubling to note
that people in high places, who swore to uphold the law, have dwindled
into purveyors of falsehood and rumour, who seek to smear and tarnish
the reputation of law-abiding and responsible citizens as well as
cripple the hallowed institutions of democracy.”
The DSP said he decided to present
himself to the FCT High Court on Monday as an ordinary citizen to plead
“not guilty” to charges he did not commit.
He said, “It is all the more
disheartening that people, who should know better, use the colour of
their office to pursue private vendetta against people they disagree
with.
“This grotesque display of
vindictiveness, arrogance and mindless targeting of innocent citizens
should find no sanctuary in our democracy.
“Using the machinery of justice to
create disorder is a dangerous and an invidious scheme that ultimately
will lead Nigeria down the road to perdition.
“It is Senator Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu today. Who knows whose turn it will be next?”
Source: ThisDay and Punch
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