The Political drama unfolding in the National Assembly gets more interesting as Lawmakers belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have insisted that the Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Senate President, Bukola Saraki step down from their position.
In the battle for the control of the National Assembly, APC lawmakers insist that they have the majority in the House, despite the massive defection of lawmakers belonging to the party. The APC lawmakers insist that their simple majority will soon be consolidated.
The APC lawmakers insist that Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara were planning to defect to the PDP and as such must step down from the principal positions in the National Assembly when they eventually do.
The APC Senators and House of Representatives members who support the President, Muhammadu Buhari say they are committed to sustaining their majority in House and insist that the Speaker and Senate President must step down when plenary resumes by September 26.
Senators and members of the House of Representatives supporting President Muhammadu Buhari are back to the drawing board to sustain APC’s majority in the two chambers.
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The lawmakers also base their premise on the fact that the Senate President may be put on trial for the Offa Bank Robbery even though the Senate President insists on his own innocence after being quizzed by detectives regarding the incident in which 33 people died.
Lawmakers loyal to President Buhari have been meeting to consolidate APC’s majority in the House where they tabled Saraki’s refusal to read letters of defection of three senators, who are defecting from PDP to APC. They are Hajiya Fatima Raji Rasaki; Hope Uzondima and Sunday Ogbuoji.
A source from the National Assembly complex reported that the last had not been heard of the defections,
“We believe APC has the number to hold a simple majority in the two chambers, contrary to what our leaders have been telling the nation. Without Senator Saraki, APC senators are 53 and, of course, it is obvious that APC is in the majority in the House.
“Pro-Buhari/ APC members of the National Assembly have had some sessions in the last 72 hours and our ultimate goal is to sustain our majority in the two chambers.
“With the upcoming elections in two states and ongoing talks and reconciliation, we will certainly be up to 57 in the Senate. All we are waiting for is for Saraki and Dogara to tell the nation whether they are defecting or not. Once they defect, we will insist that they must step down as our leaders.
“By simple majority, we are expected to produce the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. We will not take anything less than that.” The source concluded.
The demand of the APC lawmakers was also confirmed by a former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume,
“If Saraki defects, he has to step down. That is what it should be. But, as of now, he has not announced, written or registered. He is only hobnobbing around with PDP. So that is what we have to wait for. If he announces his resignation from APC or his defection, he loses the Senate President’s seat automatically.
“If Saraki defects to the PDP, he is still our colleague in the Senate, but he cannot remain the Senate President. That cannot work. But he will be a senator like me. The same thing applies to Dogara.
“You cannot participate in PDP primaries while you remain in APC; it is not possible and you can’t remain in PDP and go and participate in APC primaries. Even the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines do not allow you to do that. You have to move to a certain party before a certain period and the period is usually before the primaries”
He further asserted.
Mr. Ndume recalled that when he moved from ANPP to PDP he had to do it shortly before the expiration of his tenure as that was the right thing to do.