Alleged forgery: 5 reasons APC wants Saraki sacked

Alleged forgery: 5 reasons APC wants Saraki sacked

Senate president Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekwerenmadu have been charged with alleged forgery of the Senate rules to pave the way for their 2015 election. They both deny any wrong doing. 

Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekwerenmadu have been charged with alleged forgery of the Senate Rules by the federal government.

The forgery suit was filed by the federal government against the Senate president, his deputy and other clerical staff of the National Assembly, at the Federal High Court, Abuja on June 10, 2016. In the suit, Saraki, Ekweremadu and others allegedly “caused the Standing Order to be believed as the genuine Standing Orders, 2015 and circulated same for use during the inauguration of the 8th Senate of the Na­tional Assembly of the Fed­eral Republic of Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Law”.

However, the Senate, on Sunday, June 19, described the trial of the principal officers of the House as a strong attempt to cripple the legislative arm of government. The spokesperson for the Senate, Senator Sabi Abdullahi in a statement on Sunday, June 19, alleged that some senior officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were seeking to use the courts to obtain what they failed to get during the Senate leadership election. Following the weighty allegations by the Senate that some members of the APC are behind the move to try Saraki and Ekeweramadu. Naij.com highlights 5 reasons why aggrieved APC members may want Saraki sacked.

1. NASS coup Some political titans in the APC are yet to forgive Senator Bukola Saraki for flouting the party’s directives when he emerged as Senate president without his party’s approval. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara state, was elected as president of the eighth Senate after defeating his party’s preferred candidate, Ahmed Lawan. He was nominated by Sani Yerima and seconded by Dino Melaye and was elected unanimously by 57 senators present at the session. The remaining 51 senators were at the International Conference Centre waiting for a truce meeting reportedly called by the leadership of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari. Saraki’s emergence as Senate president was ascribed to power sharing deal he allegedly brokered with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which saw the immediate past deputy of the 7th Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, emerge as deputy of to Saraki. Apparently angered by Saraki’s conduct the APC described Saraki’s ‘coup’ as unacceptable, an act of treachery and the highest level of indiscipline. APC had picked Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for the post of Senate president and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, but the opposition of the PDP endorsed Saraki and Dogara who went on to win. Though Yakubu Dogara emergence as Speaker of the House of Representatives was opposed by the APC, Dogara however won the support of his party when he adhered to the list submitted by the APC in the appointment of principal officers of the House, However Saraki’s refusal to compromise set him at edge with some influential APC politicians.

2. Allegiance to the PDP During the election of principal officers in the Senate, Bukola Saraki refused to adhere to the list submitted to him by his party, while Dogara kept faith with the party’s list, Saraki’s allies in the Senate named different persons, whose names were announced on the floor of the Senate in. After failing to adhere to the party’s list Sarki said his hands were tied, adding that the party’s list arrived late. This excuse by Saraki further angered some in his party who saw him as an ally to the opposition.

3. Alleged presidential ambition It has been alleged in some quarters that Bukola Saraki, is nursing an ambition to run for presidency in 2019, though Saraki has dismissed this claims on the grounds that he dropped his presidential bid in the 2015 election for President Muhammadu Buhari and also contributed immensely to his victory in the presidential election held on March 28, 2015, some APC bigwigs are not convinced. Party members with interest in maintaining a tight grip on the party see Saraki as a threat due to his close ties to the PDP.

4. The controversy surrounding the 2016 budget One of the highlights of President Buhari’s one year in office was the 2016 budget which was marred in controversy, after Nigerians had waited endlessly for the Budget to be submitted to the National Assembly, Nigerians were shocked when the presidency alleged that unauthorised figures has been smuggled into the budget proposals. Though the presidency officials blamed most of the errors in the budget on “over-ambitious civil servants” in the budget office who handled the preparation of the document prior to the appointment of ministers, some party members suspected a foul play from the leaders of the Senate which Saraki heads. The controversy which surrounded the 2016 budget was interpreted by some party faithfuls as a ploy by the leadership of the Senate to bring the administration of Buhari to ridicule, making Saraki an enemy of those behind such narrative.

5. Alleged corruption No sooner had Bukola Saraki assumed the leadership of the Senate than the Code of Conduct Bureau slammed a 13-count charge of corruption on the president of the Nigerian Senate. According to the charges the Senate president is accused of failing to declare some assets he acquired during his tenure as governor. Among other offences, Saraki is alleged to have acquired assets beyond his legitimate earnings, and is also accused of operating foreign accounts while being a public officer – governor and senator. The offences, the charge said, violated sections of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Following his trial at the CCT, several groups called Saraki to step aside as Senate president until he is cleared of all charges against him. However, Saraki’s supporters have condemned his ongoing trial at the CCT, stressing that Saraki was being persecuted through the tribunal due to his emergence as the Senate president. As if he’s battle for political survival over false asset declaration was not enough, Saraki’s image was further tainted the by the Panama Papers, a trove of documents hacked from Panama legal firm, Mossack Fonseca, showing many world political leaders and their allies, business leaders, professionals, hiding cash and assets in a labyrinth of offshore companies and banks, to escape the probing eyes of tax authorities. According to Premium times, James Ibori, Saraki’s brother Laolu, his associate Obi Asika were all mentioned in the documents, just like the late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron, friends and allies of Russian President, Vladimir Putin. There were also links to South African President Jacob Zuma, soccer star Lionel Messi and Addo Kuffour, son of former Ghanian President John Kuffuor. The panama leaks have added to the calls for Saraki to step down as Senate president on the grounds that he lacks the moral stand to occupy that hallow position. These are some of the reasons Saraki is marked down by his political foes. Do you think Bukola Saraki will survive this battle?