Although the leadership of the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed its members in the senate
to oust Senate President Bukola Saraki, TheCable understands that the senators
are more interested in restoring peace to the upper legislative chamber than
doing this.
Saraki has been under pressure to
step down since he defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the APC.
Adams Oshiomhole, national
chairman of the APC, had asked senators of the ruling party to remove the
senate president.
“Saraki will not be the first to
be impeached and I doubt if he is going to be the last but definitely he will
be impeached according to law and according to the democratic norms. The only
way Senator Saraki can avoid impeachment is for him to do what is honourable by
stepping down,” Oshimohole had said when the national assembly was on recess.
On Monday, Ovie Omo-Agege, an APC
senator from Delta state, had said the nation’s number three citizen would be
removed at the slightest opportunity.
His utterance on the eve of
resumption of the parliament after more than two months had given the
impression that the lawmakers were in for a stormy session.
Ahmad Lawan, leader of the APC caucus in the senate, with Saraki during a meeting at the senate president’s office on Tuesday |
But when the senators resumed on Tuesday, they went into a closed-door session. Sources revealed that the issue of calming frayed nerves was the major agenda of the meeting they had.
A legislative source said despite
the provocation over the defection of the senate president, the lawmakers
agreed to sheathe their swords and give peace a chance.
“The senators have seen that the
APC is not even fair to them… Frank discussions about the future of the eighth
senate as it goes into its last stage held at the closed-door session,” the
source said.
“They agreed that nothing would
distract them till the end of their tenure.”
Another source said the
leadership of the APC caucus in the upper legislative chamber got a promise
from Saraki that national interest would be paramount in the dealings of the
senate.
“Following their closed-door
meeting, the senators agreed not to allow external forces to cause disaffection
or disturbance within the legislative arm of government,” the source said.
Efforts to reach Omo-Agege and
Abdullahi Adamu, senator representing Nasarawa west, to get their reactions to
the development were not successful as their phones rang out and text messages
were not replied.
Omo-Agege and Adamu have been on
the frontline of the anti-Saraki campaign.
Yusuph Olaniyonu, spokesman of
the senate president, was not also available for comments as his telephone line
was out of reach as of the time this report was filed.
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