Following the appearance of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu before the Abuja High Court over the forgery case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and the statement released to its effect by the Secretary General of the Federation, SGF, Mr David Babachir Lawal yesterday, the Nigerian senate has in turn issued a reply.
Recall that the SGF in his statement noted that the Senate is not the party on trial as the trial is particular to individuals mentioned in the motion. The SGF further cited the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari as an example explaining that he resigned from office over the issue of certificate forgery.
In reply, The Senate through its spokesman Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, vhemently disagreed with the SGF, Lawal’s stand as it maintained that “it is the Senate that is the target of the present attempt to intimidate the legislature to force a leadership change in the Senate.”
the senate further added: “Mr. Babachir Lawal should tell us how reasonable it is to conclude that when the President of Nigeria and the Vice President are being jointly tried in a suit whose outcome can remove them from office, it is not the Buhari Government that is being targeted.
“It is also imperative to clearly state that contrary to the claim by the SGF, neither the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki nor Senator Ike Ekweremadu were mentioned by the petitioners, the statements by those interviewed by the police or even the police report.
“Meanwhile, let us refreshen Mr. Lawal’s memory about the facts of the 1999 case. It is obvious that the Senate President and his deputy are not being accused of certificate forgery as it happened in ex-Speaker Salisu Buhari’s case. Therefore, nobody should compare an apple with orange. Also, neither Saraki nor Ekweremadu is below the age requirement for their present position as it was alleged in the Buhari case. Attempts to make the two situations look similar is to present all Nigerians as having no sense of history.
“We also know that nobody can be accused of forging his own signature. The executive is in no position to determine what is the correct Standing Orders of the Senate. The Senate President and his Deputy were as at the morning of the June 9, 2015 inauguration of the Senate mere Senators-elect and could therefore not have been in a position to influence any alteration in the rule book.
“The Senate as an institution, and indeed the National Assembly, has spoken about their understanding of the present assault on their independence by the executive’. We maintain that this trial is a design by the Executive to criminalize the internal affairs of the Senate to create a distraction for the leadership of the Senate, force a leadership change and cow the legislators.
“Those behind this plot find this trial more expedient and important than finding tangible solutions to the multi-various socio-economic problems bedeviling the country. However, we are sure they will fail in this attempt. We only hope they will allow the judiciary to truly and creditably perform its duties and give independent verdict on the case”.
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