APC divided over Saraki’s trial

The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) is divided over the arraignment of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Tuesday.

A section of the leadership in Abuja is angry that it was “shut out” of the power-loop in the party while some are angry that the party, by being silent, is tacitly “backing the humiliation of an arm of government through the arraign­ment of the Senate President.

Daily Sun gathered that shortly after the Code of Con­duct Bureau (CCB) made public the 13-count charge against Saraki, some top members of the party expressed displeasure at the development.

“Some party leaders, particularly those who had links with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the past were unhappy that they don’t even know what is happening in the party. Nobody calls meetings and information is not even disseminated down the line.

“Imagine calling the party executive and they keep tell­ing you they don’t know what is happening! We have told them to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting but nobody seems to be listening,” a source said.

At the National Assembly, a source said moves to com­pile “some constitutional breaches by the Presidency may have been stalled for now…we have made our findings and we now know that President Muhammadu Buhari knows nothing about the arraignment of the Senate President at the CCT.”

Meanwhile, ripples of Saraki’s trial have spilled over to the House of Representatives, with palpable fears gripping the leadership that Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his deputy may face persecution.

Although the House has enjoyed relative peace since the leadership of the APC prevailed on him over the composi­tion of principal officers, the travail of Saraki has, however, unsettled the Speaker and other members of the leadership.

A ranking lawmaker told Daily Sun that the same agents spearheading the ongoing onslaught against Saraki might soon extend the same “hand of fellowship” to the House. He alleged that the ongoing pseudo anti-corruption war was a distraction meant to cripple the National Assembly.

He said actions so far taken by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) of government showed that the ex­ecutive was not willing and ready to work with the Eight National Assembly.

“We have seen a pattern. You remember how the presi­dent has made some key appointments without referring them to the National Assembly for approval. You have also seen how EFCC chairman refused to appear before a Senate committee probing the diversion of monies realized from recovered assets.

“Even in the ongoing public probe of the 2015 budget in the House of Representatives, it is the same. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have both refused to honour invitations sent out to them by the adhoc committee. These are clear signs.

“What about the billions of naira singlehandedly ap­proved by President Muhammadu Buhari as bailout funds to states? Did he seek for approval from the National As­sembly? There is a pattern and in the coming weeks, Ni­gerians will understand the point I am trying to make,” he added.

Speaking specifically on plans by members of the House of Representatives to defend the Speaker and other prin­cipal officers of the House, the APC lawmaker from the Northwest told Daily Sun that there was ongoing wide consultation across the divide. He said the leadership of the House was mopping up support to fence off any possible backlash from Saraki’s trial.

“What I think has helped Dogara is the fact that he has not been politically-exposed like Saraki. Even at that, they will not rest until they find a way to incriminate him. Those who feel that APC belongs to them are the ones creating these unnecessary distractions.

“We are discussing with members of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) in the House on how to pass a vote of confidence on the Speaker and his deputy as soon as we resume plenary after the Sallah break. The House cannot afford to be divided at this crucial stage. We need to unite in order to defeat our common enemy.

“Like I have said, this is not about APC or PDP; this is about protecting the independence of the House. If the cur­rent cabal fighting Saraki extends their trouble to the House and they know that we are divided, it will be easy for them to just do what they like and that is how we will fight our­selves until the end of this administration. We will not allow that to happen,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dogara has maintained a loud silence since his return from his long unofficial holiday in the United States of America. He has not been seen at public functions. Other principal officers of the House have also been main­taining low profile since the travails of Dr. Saraki began.