The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday directed members of APC caucus in the Senate to impeach the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and get automatic tickets to contest the 2019 election.
Oshiomhole, who met with members of the APC caucus in the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja, said it would be wrong for the party to sacrifice its majority status in the parliament by allowing the opposition to preside over the National Assembly.
He said that no court would save the Senate president from impeachment if he refuses to resign honorably.
He said:
“Democracy teaches us that minority has the right to have their say, but the majority must have their way. So, if we have 56 senators and they have 49 senators, I insist that 49 senators cannot preside over the affairs of a house in which APC has 56 senators. And I ask them to tell us anywhere in the world where the minority rules over the majority.
“Often times, we take flights to Washington and other places to understudy the American presidential system of government. Once you lose the majority, without much ado, you step down.
“All of these stories about illegal impeachment, let me restate that we cannot be subjected to minority rule in the Nigerian Senate and, therefore, whether it is convenient for distinguished Senator Saraki or not, the truth is whether by morality or by law or by convention, Saraki can only avoid impeachment by following the path of honour, step down so that APC can take over the leadership of the Senate.
“So, I want to repeat, Saraki as president of the Senate will be lawfully and democratically impeached. It will not be illegally done. It will be done according to law and tradition. Those lawyers who have chosen to sit as judges, we need to remind them that lawyers are, at best, officers of the court; they do not constitute the court.
“So, when Senator Saraki is lawfully and democratically impeached, they will be free to go to anywhere they want to go and canvass the legality or the illegality of the action. It is not in their place to pronounce with finality as if they constitute the judicial arm of government.”
Oshiomhole denied holding any meeting with the senators on Monday, disclosing that he was far away in London when the media was awash with reports that he presided over a meeting with APC senators at his private office in Aso Drive, Abuja.
He described such media reports as blackmail sponsored by the opposition, which, he said, will definitely fail.
On the promise of automatic tickets, Oshiomhole said:
“Let me assure all of us that the National Working Committee (NWC) is making this promise publicly and we are doing you no favor. Legislation and the legislature require experience because nobody can give what he does not have. We see people like Senator McCain when they speak American people listen. High turnover of legislators is not a value to be celebrated. What we should celebrate is experience, which cannot be read in books, but can only be acquired on the job.
“I want to reassure you that we will do everything possible to change the old narrative of heavy turnover every four years and the politics of you have done enough will change over times for the good of Nigeria and for the maintenance of democracy.
“I want to reassure you that we value you; all the stories about people being denied or that you would be frustrated out, I want to assure you that our party values experience; our party values knowledge; our party values loyalty and our party will do everything possible to reward loyalty and demonstrate that loyalty pays and we will not be ashamed to do so.
“We are already doing so many things in our party, but like they say, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. With time, all these shall come to pass and we would have kept our word as you have kept yours.”
Oshiomhole stated that there is no hiding place for Saraki.
Oshiomhole stated that there is no hiding place for Saraki.
He tasked the APC lawmakers to ensure the impeachment of the Senate president scales through in order to avoid a government shutdown.
He also noted:
“As governing party, I want to reassure the Nigerian people that we are committed to leading by example and that means absolute submission and obedience to the letters and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and everything we will do, we will ensure that it is done according to law, including the impeachment of Senator Saraki.
“There is no hiding place for him. I insist, his time is up. The only way that probably he could have retained that seat is to decide to return, but we will not be ready to welcome him. He must remain where he is and we will continue to ensure that he surrenders the Presidency of the Senate to the majority party in line with the provisions of our constitution. “We have very many important issues, which require the National Assembly to deliberate on, those issues that were pending when the two presiding officers hurriedly adjourned the deliberations of the house without exhausting the calendar.
The result is that we have serious pending issues that require deliberations by the National Assembly, including the issue of the approval of foreign loans without which this year’s budget cannot perform; the issue of the INEC budget and virement of the budget. “Ours is to appeal to all of you that your commitment to the sustenance of democracy is enough to get you to do all that you can to get the National Assembly to reconvene so that these and other weighty national issues will be deliberated upon, appropriate decisions reached so that the Nigerian government is not shut down.
“If we do not take those steps and government cannot spend money that should be appropriated, we run the risk of government shutdown. As members of the governing party, I believe you will do whatever is needed to be done to prevent a government shutdown,” he said. Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yusuf Lasun expressed disappointment that the National Assembly could not reconvene on Tuesday. Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan and House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, in their remarks, stated that the National Assembly must be reconvened.
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