APC Can’t Remove Me as Senate President, Says Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki said yesterday that the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not remove him as Senate president, insisting that he would not step down from the exalted legislative position until his term runs out.
Saraki spoke in Minna, the capital of Niger State, during a visit to former military President Ibrahim Babangida, saying the ruling party does not possess the number to force him out of office.
The Senate president, whose confidence had perhaps been buoyed by the backing he received from the former military president for his presidential ambition, told Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders at its secretariat in the state capital that the party was in the majority in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
“They know that we are in the majority, and whatever they want to do, they know that they don’t have the number,” he said, adding, “One thing is clear, I will not sacrifice the interest of the country for my personal interest, and in the last three years as a Senate president, I have demonstrated that my interest is second to that of national interest, I will not step down from the Senate presidency.”
The National Chairman of APC, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, has repeatedly asked Saraki to step down as Senate president following his defection to the PDP.
A suit on the issue had also been filed in the Federal High Court Abuja.
Saraki also dismissed the call by the APC for the National Assembly to reconvene for the purpose of removing him, describing it as unnecessary and explained that since the Senate was properly adjourned, it would reconvene as scheduled after its annual break.
He said, “We did not adjourn the Senate in the dark, there was a procedure, where at the end of the session there was a vote and it was seconded that we should go on annual recess.
“So it wasn’t anything done in the secret, everybody was there. It is not that some few people met somewhere and took the decision.
“Everybody participated and everybody took the decision that we should adjourn for a normal annual recess.
“The date that we agreed to resume is the same date that we resumed last year and the year before, so there is nothing abnormal about the Senate adjournment.”
Saraki said that his plan was for Nigeria to be a country rooted in the rule of law and democratic process, adding, “I am happy that even they that started making the noise have now agreed that they will follow the rule of law and due process.
“What is important to me is to ensure the autonomy of the three arms of government, to allow rule of law, to ensure that we respect the democratic process.”
The PDP presidential aspirant reiterated his commitment to upholding the principle of separation of power and rule of law, adding that he would always fight for what is right.