The determination of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to remove Bukola Saraki from the position of the Senate President has increased the heat in the country’s political space. Saraki contested the position in 2015 by virtue of his membership of the ruling party.

Recently, the Senate President dumped the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But, the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, sees the Senate presidency as a crown belonging to the APC since it is the majority party at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Driven by a sense of entitlement, Oshiomhole is insisting that Saraki must surrender the crown. To him, it is an aberration for the minority to rule over the majority.

“If you are wearing a family crown and you are leaving the family, you have to drop the crown and move to your new family,” Oshiomhole said in his initial reaction to the Senate President’s defection. The APC National Chairman said it is a matter of honour for Saraki to resign his position.

But, Saraki has ignored the persistent calls by the APC that he should relinquish his position. The former Kwara State governor argued that he was not elected into the position solely by the ruling party. He is insisting that his Presidency of the Senate is a mandate by all lawmakers from different political platforms.

The Senate leadership has been a hot seat for Saraki from day one. He stirred the hornet’s nest when he clinched the seat against the wishes of his former party.

Ahmed Lawan, who later became the Majority Leader, was the consensus candidate of the APC for the Senate President. George Akume was the party’s preference for the position of the Deputy Senate President. However, the consensus arrangement did not go down well with Saraki. He sought and got support from the PDP senators.

On the day of the inauguration of the Eighth National Assembly, while 51 APC senators and leaders were at the International Conference Centre (ICC) waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention to resolve the issues surrounding the choice of the party’s candidate for the Senate Presidency, Saraki was elected by 57 senators. Ike Ekweremadu of the PDP was also elected unopposed as the Senate Deputy President.

The Senate President was labeled a traitor and offensives were lunched against him. First was to slam a forgery charge against him and Ekweremadu in court. They were accused of forging the Senate Standing Rule. But, the case seems to have died a natural death.

Less than four months after becoming the Senate President, Saraki was arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. He was accused of making false declaration of assets when he was the governor of Kwara State.

For more than two and a half years, the case dragged from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court. But, in June this year, the Senate President was discharged by the Apex Court of all the 18 charges brought against him.

The storm, however, was not over for Saraki with his victory at the Supreme Court. He was to be linked to the armed robbery in Offa, Kwara State, which claimed several lives. Some of the suspects arrested in connection with the robbery incident reportedly told the police that they were political thugs of the Senate President. Saraki is still battling to free himself from the case.

Saraki is facing another battle with the APC’s insistence that he should vacate the position of the Senate President. Twice, he has survived what observers consider as attempts to impeach him when his official residence was invaded by security operatives and the National Assembly complex was barricaded by hooded officials of the Department of State Services (DSS). Will he survive the latest impeachment plot against him? This question will be answered when the Senate reconvenes.

The Red Chamber is currently on recess. It is expected to resume on September 28. But, the APC has been strident in its calls for Saraki to reconvene the Senate to consider the budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2019 elections and the foreign loans that President Buhari is seeking to finance this year’s budget.

There are still arguments over which between the APC and the PDP is the majority party in the Senate. The ruling party is claiming that the number of its lawmakers in the Upper Chamber is 56, while that of the PDP is 49. But, the PDP has told the ruling party to wait till when the Senate will reconvene to determine which political party has the majority parliamentarians.

If at the end of the day the APC is proved to be in majority, is it only the party that can produce the Senate President? The position, Saraki has said, is not an exclusive preserve of any political party whether or not the party is in majority. He said only the majority of individual members of the parliament across party lines can determine who occupies the seat.

Saraki’s view is shared by many who have also argued that there is no law that says the presiding officers of the parliament must be produced by the majority party. The constitution of the country, according to them, only says the president and the deputy president shall be elected by the members of the Senate from among themselves. They make reference to Section 50 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to buttress their position.

Given the belligerent utterances of Oshiomhole and some APC senators, the view of some analysts is that the APC is not likely to spare any weapon in its quest for Saraki’s removal. But, how will the party achieve its aim? Will it follow the rule of law or will it ignore due process?

Prominent Nigerian lawyers and law professors have argued that it will not take less than 73 Senators to remove the Senate President or his deputy. These legal luminaries include Femi Falana, Wole Olanipekun, Mike Ozekhome, Fidelis Oditah, Roland Otaru, among others.

They said any attempt to impeach Saraki must follow the due process specified by Section 50(2)(c) of the Constitution. If not, the action will amount to illegality according to them. The section says only two-thirds of the 109 senators as opposed to two-thirds of those present on the floor can legally impeach any presiding officer of a legislature.

Falana said: “The attention of APC legislators ought to be drawn to section 52 of the Constitution which provides that the President and Deputy Senate President can only be removed by the resolution supported by the votes of not less two thirds majority of the entirety of the members of the Senate.”

The APC legislators are not up to 73. They are 56 as claimed by the party’s national chairman. Will the ruling party muster the number required by the constitution to remove Saraki? If the party realises that it will be a tall order to get the required two-third majority of the votes of the entire members, will it shelve the impeachment plan?

Whichever way the APC goes about getting rid of Saraki, many have warned the party to desist from following a path that can lead to the truncation of democracy in the country.

They are quick to point to the fact that the APC were very active in aiding Aminu Tambuwal to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011 even though the PDP wanted somebody else. Tambuwal, now the governor of Sokoto State, was not impeached when he jumped ship from the PDP to the APC. Will the APC bring the roof down because Saraki has returned to the PDP from which he joined the ruling party in 2014?....Read More Here

http://www.mcebisco.com.ng/2018/08/sarakis-impeachment-plot-will-apc.html

No, they won't!

Saraki is a gonnner!!

No peace for the wicked!!!

no.... it's obvious that Saraki will not be impeached. what the APC is doing is to put Saraki on his toes and under pressure before 2019....

Saraki is a dimwit, only IPOB and enemies of state will see him as intelligent person.






Whether legally or illegally he will go before 2019.



One heck of a truth!!!

His greediness will make him lose everything

Anyhow he should be impeached

Impeaching the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, without following due process will be the undoing of APC.

uboma:
Impeaching the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, without following due process will be the undoing of APC.

exactly!!!