Presidency Ask Saraki, Ekweremadu to Resign, Senate Replies

  

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir Lawal, has tackled Nigeria's senate president, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, over statements made about their forgery trials.

Both senate leaders had pointed fingers and alleged that a cabal exists within the Muhammadu Buhari government.

However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, Lawal condemned the action of both men, saying they gave the erroneous impression that the entire Senate was on trial.

“The complaint leading to the forgery investigation was reported to the Police by some aggrieved Senators, who specifically accused certain persons.

“It is not the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is involved and definitely not the House of Representatives,” the statement said.

Lawal said bringing the National Assembly as a body into this court case is totally unwarranted and can only be for other purposes and reasons outside the investigation and legal proceedings.

“A case of forgery is usually preferred against individuals as was the case with a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was accused of certificate forgery.

“What he did was to resign, honourably,” the statement added.

The statement said the country’s democracy was still evolving and being deepened, adding that the rule of law was supreme to the present administration.

In response,  the senate disagreed in a statement signed by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullah, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity.

According to him, "..it is the Senate that is the target of the present attempt to intimidate the legislature to force a leadership change in the Senate," Abdullah said.

"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 re-freshen 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."