Senate President Bukola Saraki
•Plot to stop Adamu’s third term thickens
Senate President and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that calls for his impeachment when the senate resumes for plenary are feeble, stressing that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks the required numbers to carry out that threat. Saraki, who made the assertions during an interactive session with journalists at the PDP secretariat in Minna, explained that the decision of the upper chamber of the National Assembly to go on recess was unanimously agreed on accordance with the rule of law.
The Senate President declared: “Everybody was there, and we all took a decision to adjourn in our normal annual recess. Check the dates we resumed last year, and the year before. There was nothing abnormal about it.“Those who are accusing us of undue process in the adjournment are unaware that we are in the majority. They know they don’t have the locus standi. The people that are speaking now against it are speaking out of emotions, because everyone was there when the decision was taken. It was not that a few of us met somewhere and took a decision.
“It is important to note that when we adjourned, it is with the total support of everyone, not that we stayed in a corner or in the dark because there is a due procedure where at the end of the session they will vote for that. It was proposed and seconded. We took minutes and we also even waited and went through the rules and proceedings of the Senate. It was not anything done out of mischief.”
While insisting that he does not regard the imputation by his detractors as an issue, Saraki stressed: “The most important thing is that, at anytime I will never sacrifice the interest of this country for my own personal interest. In the last three years, my interest is always secondary to the interest of the country.
“Those people, who are talking against it are just playing politics with it, when it is time for us to resume, we will resume. And all we just want to do now is to see that this country is runned properly according to the rule of law and due process.“I have always aligned myself to what the constitution says and the tenets of the three arms of government to ensure that we allow the rule of law, the respect the democratic process.”
However, the senatorial ambition of one of the arrowheads of opposition to Saraki, Senator Abdullahi Adamu for a third term, might hit a brickwall following latest move by Governor Tanko Al-Makura to draft one of his loyal commissioners into the senatorial race from Nassarawa south western zone.Governor Almakura, who had enjoyed a long time support of senator Abdullahi Adamu, was said to have lost confidence in the senator for acts of betrayal by senator Adamu.
Consequently, the governor, who had been restraining his lieutenants from showing interest in Adamu’s seat, has directed one of his aides, the commissioner of Education, Ahmed Tijani, to join the race. Tijani, who is from the same senatorial zone as Adamu, has already picked the expression of interest and nomination forms to run against the incumbent. The Guardian learnt that the decision to encourage Ahmed Tijani to run came shortly after the governor advised the present Secretary to State Government (SSG), Mr. Abdullahi Musa, to step down for the incumbent Senator for the seat.
But the sudden decision to sponsor one of his commissioners to join the race against Senator Adamu at next month’s APC primary is a clear manifestation of the simmering supremacy battles between the governor and Senator Adamu.A source confided in The Guardian that the APC leader in the state also advised the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Bala Sani, to join the governorship race to contend with his deputy, Silas Ali Agara.
Agara has shown both overt and covert loyalty to Almakura and APC since inception in the hope that he would be rewarded with support for the governorship of the state. All that seems to be over, as he seems to have been dumped by Almakura. Investigation further revealed that the Nassarawa State chapter of the ruling APC may likely suffer mass defection shortly after the guber primary going by hints from some of the aspirants.
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