"Anybody who attaches himself to Buhari for re-election is not fit"

Chairman, South-East Senate Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South yesterday took a swipe at Senators who opposed the amendment to the Electoral Act regarding election sequence in the 2019 general elections, saying that they constitute those who cannot win elections except they climb on the back of President Muhammadu Buhari.


According to him, those calling for the jettisoning of the arrangement which places the election of the president last, came to power on the back of their political parties and influence of President Buhari in the last 2015 general polls.

Senator Abaribe said, “anybody who attaches himself to Buhari for re-election is not fit, ab initio, to be a Senator. It is high time politicians stopped riding on the back of some political establishments or parties to win elections in Nigeria.”

The National Assembly conference committee had harmonised the different versions of the passed bill from the two chambers now ready for onward submission to the president for assent.

Ten All Progressives Congress, APC, senators has Wednesday opposed the amendment, which they said was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari, just as they walked out of the chamber to address the press, while the plenary presided by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was still on.

Led by the Chairman of Northern Senators Caucus and former governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the 10 senators were peeved that their argument against the bill was truncated at the plenary by Senate President Saraki and vowed that the amendment would not stand. The aggrieved APC senators included Binta Garba (Adamawa); Ali Wakili (Bauchi); Kurfi Umaru (Katsina); Andrew Uchendu (Rivers); Abdullahi Danbaba (Sokoto); Ovie Omo- Agege, Delta; Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi); Abu Ibrahim (Katsina); and Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo).

They had described the amendment and process of passage as ‘illegal’, vowing that it would not stand, with the leader of the dissenting group, Abdullahi Adamu, questioning the conduct of the Senate President in the process of passage.