Senator Bukola Saraki, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology and the Environment has disclosed that the All Progressives Congress would win the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly elections in the State.
Saraki speaking with newsmen concerning the defection of 17 PDP Senators to APC, expected to take place any moment now, made the following remarks.
“We are going to formally defect. When we started, we were 19. But Jigawa senators pulled out. We have 17 senators that will defect from PDP to APC.
“The letter has been signed. I have signed my own. Others have signed theirs. So, it is not a matter of maybe. It must be and not a matter of months or weeks, but a matter of days.”
“I want you to rule out the fear of losing our seats; this week we will write the senate president of our decision to defect. The letter is ready, only that we don’t want to go solo; there are two other senators who were to go to their constituencies this weekend and finalise with their people.
“You know when it comes to the Senate, the issue is more complicated and you have to handle it; your constituency is larger than that of the Representatives and in politics, there are many things you must consider.
“But I can tell you it is not a question of ‘if’, it is a matter of when and I can assure you it will happen. We know that the majority of senators understand issues beyond the case filed by the PDP.”
Speaking on the crisis in Rivers State, Saraki said, “I was a governor for eight years and was chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum. We know the power of the governor under the law. During the time, we had occasions to look at states where the governor and the CP could not work together and in the interest of peace and political stability, we recommended the redeployment of such officers. It is necessary because the law says the governor will oversee issues of security.
“The IGP is an experienced officer; look, the crisis in Rivers is less than what happened in Kwara State during the time of Governor Mohammed Lawal; it was hotter than what they have now and the IGP (Abubakar) was the CP here and he handled it. But, for his maturity, maybe people like us wouldn’t have become governor.
Saraki stated that the PDP was clinically dead in Kwara.
“Those who are opposed to our system are in the minority. I do not see their capacity to take over. They may have their personal agenda. They may believe that they can go to Abuja and make some promises so that they can benefit something. I do not think their actions are in the interest of Kwarans.
“As far as Kwara is concerned, in the Senate, only one senator is not with us. All the Rep members are with us. In the House of Assembly, there were 22 members elected on PDP platform and two on the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform. Out of these 24, only two are not with us now. The entire local councils are controlled by the APC; where will they take off? We are not even going to stop because we want to take more.”
“It will be unfortunate of anyone, in any quarters to say I want Senator Mark’s seat. I do not want his seat, But I will not be blackmailed in not doing or say what I feel is right because I have been down this road a number of times while standing strong on not only what is right but in the best interest of our great country. Therefore, I will not succumb to cheap blackmail that all my intent was all about naked ambition or personal interest”.
“For me to dissipate my time and energy, seeking Senator Mark’s seat with a year to election and likely possible only six months of active legislative activities, will be illogical. But as leaders, there will be issues that we will continue to speak and stand for which I believe is in the interest of the Senate and in my view, the interest of our nation.”
He added: “In September 2011, I stood up then to demand transparency and Accountability in the management of the fuel subsidy, where I spoke about the massive fraud in the scheme which posed a great threat to our economy. Then I was called names and told that I did not like Mr President and that it was all about the 2015 elections and that my figures were grossly inaccurate and no such mismanagement took place. Now the facts have shown otherwise.”
“So, if he cannot do what is right, we know it is because there are other factors responsible and we want to help him remove those factors.”