Senators vow to stand by Saraki, say calls for his resignation is mischievous

Members of the Senate have vowed to stand by
Senate President Bukola Saraki as he goes
through his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal
CCT. In a statement released through its
spokesperson, Abdullahi Sabi, the Senators said
they maintain that his trial is a political vendetta
and that calls for his resignation is premature,
mischievous and unwarranted. The statement
reads:
“Following a meeting held in Abuja
yesterday (Sunday) by some senators and
the wide consultations with our colleagues
in which we reviewed last Friday’s decision
of the Supreme Court in the appeal on the
preliminary matters filed by the Senate
President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on
the charges filed against him at the Code
of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), we hereby
resolve as follows: That from the beginning
of the trial last September, we have
declared that this case is not about any
fight against corruption. It is simply a case
of political vendetta. Our position remains
the same. We still believe that the case is
politically motivated. We also noted that
the decision of the Supreme Court given
last Friday was on preliminary matters
arising from the commencement of the
trial. The trial proper is yet to begin. And
since the fundamental principle in our legal
system is that a defendant is deemed
innocent until proven guilty, we have
decided to patiently observe the
proceedings until the case runs its full
circle in the nation’s final judicial forum. It
is on this ground that we want to state
categorically that there is no basis for the
call on the Senate President to resign until
after the matter is decided in that final
judicial forum. Such a call at this time is
premature, mischievous and unwarranted.
We therefore reiterate our support for
Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the
President of the Senate. We stand by him
as he goes through the trial at the CCT
where we believe he will be able to prove
his innocence. We also call on members of
the public to ignore the rantings of a few
Senators who having failed to get the wish
of their sponsors done on the floor of the
Senate are now launching media campaign
against the leadership of the Senate. We
want members of the public to know that
the Senate under Dr. Saraki has achieved
stability in the legislative institution and we
do not need any negative distraction at this
point. The focus of the Senate is on the
objective consideration and timely passage
of the 2016 budget and we will want all
Nigerians to support us as we concentrate
on this important assignment. We also
want to say that we will not make any
further statement on this case until the
matter has been decided in the final judicial
forum.”