Some members of the new Peoples Democratic Party
(nPDP) block of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have returned to the
trenches with the prospect of dumping the APC.
In a statement, yesterday, leader of the
aggrieved group, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, said the members were rethinking
their earlier stand on making peace with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led
administration.
Baraje, a dyed-in-the wool supporter of Saraki,
referred to the allegation as a clear signal the presidency is not keen on
reaching an amicable settlement with the group.
But the police yesterday announced Saraki would
no longer be required to make the visit and could instead send in his defence
in writing. “They are no longer asking me to report at any station, but to
respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours,” he tweeted.
It was learnt the police changed their mind
following outcry by some Nigerians and pressure from the international
community.
A lawmaker disclosed that dozens of senators had
already begun readying themselves to accompany Saraki to the police station,
shutting down the chamber for as long as the matter lasted.
The statement reads in part: “The public may
recall that there have been ongoing talks between members of the former nPDP,
the APC and the presidency in recent days. Nigerians may further recall that a
team from the former nPDP, led by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.
Yakubu Dogara, and four others, were to meet with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
today.
“However, while we are truly and earnestly
committed to achieving reconciliation, harmony, truce and cohesion in the APC
as we approach the 2019 general elections, it appears the presidency is not
interested in the talks, and that they may have been negotiating in bad faith.”
The nPDP said it was alarmed that following its
meeting with the vice president, last week, “The presidency misrepresented what
transpired by trying to blackmail some of the principal actors involved in the
discussions in a national daily. Similarly, the leadership of the party (APC)
went ahead to ratify all the congresses from ward, local governments, states
and zonal, where many of our members have complaints, effectively
presenting us with a fait accompli.”
It regretted the continued “persecution” of its
members through the use of state security apparatuses. “We recognise the powers
of the police to conduct criminal investigations. But by rushing to the public
with the issue, even when they have unfettered access to the leadership of the
National Assembly, suggests an attempt to undermine, make a caricature of and
humiliate the institution of the legislature.”
It said: “It appears there is a fouled and toxic
atmosphere and environment of intimidation and threat to life where we now find
ourselves. It may no longer be conducive to members of the former nPDP to
continue with the talks, given the unfolding events in the last 24 hours, where
the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Alhaji Abdulfatah
Ahmed, the Governor of Kwara State, both of whom attended the meeting with the
vice president on Monday, May 28, 2018, have suddenly been accused of
sponsoring armed robbery by the police under the directives of the presidency.
“Similarly, on Saturday, June 2, 2018, the
Department of State Services (DSS) also suddenly withdrew more than half of all
the security details attached to the presiding officers of the National
Assembly under questionable circumstances.
“The nPDP leadership has therefore decided to
brief our members on the unfortunate development and get a fresh mandate, if
good faith returns to the discussions.”
The action by the police also drew criticism from
the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Ralph
Nwosu; his National Conscience Party (NCP) counterpart, Dr Yusuf Tanko; and
Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere.
“Nigeria’s Senate President allegedly implicated
in robbery! That is very ridiculous, not just to the government but also to
Nigerians as a whole,” said Nwosu.
Urging Nigerians to vote the APC and Buhari out
of power in 2019 before they destroy the country’s democracy, Nwosu said it was
“now clear to the world that there is a plan to rubbish the legislative
institution, which has refused to bow to the excesses of the presidency and the
power that be in the ruling party.”
Tanko said: “This government is doing all it can
to militarise our democracy. I am not surprised at the invitation to Saraki. Something
must be done to pull him down by force before 2019. The government has tried to
implicate him through the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and also his trial by
the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) but failed. This is the latest one and we
needed to be careful not to buy their dummy.”
The Spokesman for Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin,
said: “In the first place, the process of inviting Saraki was wrong and ill
motivated. By virtue of the Senate President’s position, I think it was wrong
of the police to have gone to the press with the invitation, as if the security
agency had made up its mind to implicate him. Whatever the issue, the office
deserves respect.”
In another reaction, President, Arewa Youth
Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, said: “In politics, anything
goes. But I have never seen or read in history the kind of ongoing faceoff
between the presidency and the legislative arm of government where the
president of the Senate, with the volume of money senators receive, could be
implicated in robbery? It is strange and unbelievable.
“Even if he is the biological father of the
criminals, that does not mean he is aware of everything they do. On the other
hand, if they were his political thugs, the presidency or any other politicians
should come out and convince Nigerians they don’t have thugs in their political
team? I am not approving the use of thugs in politics, but it is synonymous
with us in Nigeria.”
Second Republic politician and chieftain of Igbo
socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze, Chief Guy Ikokwu, said: “The Inspector General
of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has displayed incompetence since he assumed office.
He has, on different occasions, refused to honour the call of the Senate to
speak on issues that matter most to the development of the country, parading
himself as if he is bigger than the lawmaking arm of the country. The same
person is now investigating the head of the Senate. So, what do we expect?”
Source:guardian.ng
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