Challenge defections in court of law

 I wish to urge APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to perish the thought that Senate President Bukola Saraki would resign his position on the ground of honour and morality.   Saraki was firmly in control of the senate and has truly earned the confidence of most of his colleagues. He has provided commendable leadership in […]

 I wish to urge APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to perish the thought that Senate President Bukola Saraki would resign his position on the ground of honour and morality.  

Saraki was firmly in control of the senate and has truly earned the confidence of most of his colleagues. He has provided commendable leadership in the last three years of being the Senate President and has also demonstrated uncommon courage to secure independence of the Senate. The Senate President has not made any pretension from the beginning that he would not surrender the independence of the legislative arm to the executive. In fact, Saraki has courageously moved the senate far above the desired level of mere rubber stamp of the executive arm.

The APC Chairman lacks moral justification for calling on Saraki to resign. In good conscience APC could not substantiate its claim of having majority members in the Senate. How come the 52 APC senators they claim to have could not be gathered to meet with President Buhari in Aso Rock if they truly have the majority. We have in on record that only 39 senators attended the meeting they had with the President. 

What applied to Aminu Tambuwal in 2014 when he defected to the APC should also be the made applicable to Bukola Saraki this time. So far APC did not advise Aminu Tambuwal to resign his position then as the Speaker of the House of Representatives when he dumped PDP to join the APC; it would only smack of hypocrisy on the part of Adams Oshiomhole to have advised Saraki to resign as the Senate President for dumping APC for the PDP. 

It is worthy of condemnation clandestine moves by some APC senators to forcefully reconvene the Senate with the sole intention of impeaching Bukola Saraki as the Senate President. I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately reign in these desperate Senators in order for him not to get stained with the dirt of illegality. Although the group emphasized they and indeed majority of lovers of democracy in the country are prepared to resist and frustrate the sinister plans of these senators. President Buhari must immediately put a stop to the surreptitious moves by the likes of Senators George Akume, Ovie Omo-Agege and their co-travelers to save the legislative arm from utter desecration.

There is no resolution of the Senate or any known law that mandates a Senate President who defect from one political party to another to resign his position. It would be better for the ruling party to challenge the matter in a court of competent jurisdiction rather than the sanctimonious position of Adams Oshiomole. I will simply advise APC to challenge the defection of Saraki in a court of law instead of the appeal of Oshiomhole that is based on sentiments.

Dr. Sylvester Ofiem is National Coordinator, Coalition for Good Governance (CGG)