ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Senators loyal to the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his opponents resumed their rivalry at the weekend, with opposing camps strategising on the way forward.
The renewal of activities was a follow-up to the ruling of the Supreme Court, on Friday, which ordered the trial of the Senate President over allegation of false asset declaration.
Spokesman of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kabiru Marafa, said on Sunday that the ruling of the Supreme Court should pave the way for Saraki to resign.
But a member of the Pro-Saraki group, the Senators of Like Minds, Senator Dino Melaye, said on Sunday that the SUF was talking rubbish.
The Supreme Court had, on Friday, said Saraki should face trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which is prosecuting him over a 13-count charge of alleged false asset declaration.
Spokesman of the SUF said Saraki had become a liability, adding that the Senate President should take the path of honour by resigning from his position.
According to Senator Marafa, it had become a moral burden for Saraki to preside over the Senate, because of the gravity of the offence.
The senator, in a statement made available to Senate correspondents, said Saraki needed to save the Red chamber of the moral burden by resigning his position.
The SUF, led by Senator Ahmad Lawal, APC’s preferred candidate for the Senate top job, had been engaging Saraki in running battle for the seat since he emerged Senate President on June 9, 2015.
The group had filed a suit in court, challenging his emergence using an allegedly forged Senate rule book.
Marafa said in his statement that though the law presumes Saraki to be innocent until proven guilty, he should resign “before he is disgraced out.”
He added: “What’s happening at the Code of Conduct Tribunal has nothing to do with the Unity Forum; it’s between him and the State. And country’s law says he’s presumed innocent until proven to otherwise.
“By reason of omission or commission, Saraki has pushed himself to a position of disadvantage. By moving from one court to the other, up to the Supreme and got himself knocked out, what it portrays is that the Senate under Saraki is fast losing credibility.
“The most honourable thing for Saraki is to resign and face his prosecution. If he wins, the seat is always there and he can be re-elected again if those that supported him truly believe he is the best person for the position. And if not, he will remain a senator like he was in the seventh Assembly. Is it a must that he become Senate President?
“What is happening in the CCT is a personal thing to Saraki and it has nothing to do with his position as the Senate President. It has now reached the time when Saraki should take a bow to enable him to concentrate on his case at the CCT.
“I don’t have anything against him as a person. He is one of the few Nigerians that ought to respect the image and the integrity of the Senate more than anybody in this country. You hardly get 10 families that are blessed as far the institution of the National Assembly is concerned.
“He is a senator, a son of senator and a senior brother of a senator. They are blessed with three senators within their immediate family. So he should be in the forefront of protecting the image and integrity of the National Assembly.
“We have tolerated him based on the constitutional provisions that he is presumed innocent until he is found guilty by the court. I think he has exercised this right through the Supreme Court of the land which quashed all his grounds, he should resign honourably and face his trial in the interest of Senate and Nigerians.”
In a reaction, Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Melaye, said the SUF was talking rubbish.
He said there was no need for anyone to raise the issue of resignation at this stage.
“(Senator) Marafa is a clown, we are optimistic that what is happening is not against Saraki as an individual, it is against the Senate as an institution.
“We will defend the Senate and we will no longer fold our arms on the issue. We know that at the end of the day, we shall come out stronger.
“The case at the CCT is not about Saraki; rather, it’s about the Senate. And we will not fold our arms to mess up with the Senate. The Senate is stable and Saraki has the support of most of the senators,” he said.
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
