Senators Say They Are Ready for Battle with President Buhari

There are indications that the National Assembly is on the war path with
President Muhammadu Buhari over the prosecution of the Senate President, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged forgery of
the Senate Standing Rules 2015.
According to Punch, although some of the legislators were uncomfortable with
the anti-corruption war of the President, the relationship between the two arms
of government came to a head with the senate forgery rules suit filed by the
Federal Government.
It was learnt that many National Assembly members had concluded
plans to frustrate any request by the President because of his anti-graft
war.
Besides the senate president, who is standing trial at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal, eight senators, including the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, and a former Plateau State Governor,
Senator Joshua Dariye, are being prosecuted for corruption related offences.
Goje is standing trial at a Federal High Court, Jos, for allegedly awarding
contract for the purchase of N1bn dictionaries without due process, while Dariye
is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 23-count charge bordering on money
laundering and diversion of the state’s ecological fund.
It was gathered that among the plans of the anti-Buhari senators, consisting of
members of the Peoples Democratic Party caucus and their others colleagues in
the All Progressives Congress sympathetic to Saraki, was to delay approval for
Buhari’s appointments.
Investigations by Punch showed that those who could be affected by the hard
stand of the National Assembly included the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr.
Ibrahim Magu, whose appointment had not been confirmed by the Senate.
Others in this category, it was learnt, included ambassadors, who would mainly
be politicians. An APC senator, who is sympathetic to Saraki, confided in Punch
that the National Assembly would be strict in its oversight functions.
He said, “As part of the measures to reveal to Nigerians that there is corruption
in the executive too, we will be strict in screening appointees and in our
oversight functions.”
Following the frosty relationship, it was learnt that the lawmakers had vowed to
ensure that the principle of separation of powers was enforced between the two
arms of government.
One of the Like Mind senators, who preferred anonymity, alleged that the
Presidency, in collaboration with some APC leaders, had made up their minds to
get Saraki and Ekweremadu out at all costs.
Like Mind senators, consisting of the PDP members and their colleagues that
are supporting Saraki, were instrumental to his emergence as senate president
last year.
The senator, who spoke with Punch, said, “When the Presidency and some of
these party leaders discovered that they could not remove Saraki and
Ekweremadu on the floor of the chamber, they are now trying to carry out their
agenda using the court.

“Their intention is to ensure that both Saraki and Ekweremadu are arraigned in
court on Monday and make sure they are remanded in prison afterwards so that
we would be forced to change our leadership.”
The senator from the North Central geopolitical zone vowed that all legal and
constitutional means would be explored by his colleagues to ensure that the
Presidency was paid back in its coin.
Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi
Adesina, said:
“The anti-corruption war will not be slowed down for any reason whatsoever.
Let me refer you to what the President said on Wednesday while addressing
Presidency staffers. The war on corruption will never be slowed down.”
Source:http://www.olufamous.com/2016/06/senators-say-they-are-ready-for-battle.html?m=1