………… we were not aware of the meeting with Buhari – Dino Melaye
The presidency of the Senator Bukola Saraki has obviously not gone down well with his party, All Progressives Congress and some of his colleagues who belong to the Unity Forum as they prepare to challenge his emergence in the court.
The senators who had described his emergence as illegal also staged a walk out on Saraki during plenary on Wednesday.
This was after 27 of them, elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress were sworn-in by Saraki since they were absent at the inauguration of the Senate on Tuesday.
However, the Like Minds Senators described claims by the Unity Forum that quorum was not formed when Saraki was elected as incorrect.
Briefing the newsmen, the spokesman of the Unity Forum, Senator Barnabas Gemade, said Saraki’s election is unconstitutional cannot confer legitimacy to the elected Senate president.
Gemade said the insinuation in some quarters that some senators boycotted the election was totally unfounded.
In his words: “In our effort to meet up with the time for the inauguration, we rushed to honour the invitation of Mr. President and while at the International Conference Centre, news filtered to us that the Clerk of the National Assembly has started the process of election of the Senate president in our absence.
“This process, which remains unconstitutional, cannot confer legitimacy to the elected Senate president.
“Our right to participate in the election of the Senate president is a constitutional right, which cannot be taken by any person or group of persons.
“The insinuation in some quarters that we boycotted the election is totally unfounded.
“As loyal party members, we would take all necessary political and legal means to strengthen our democracy and democratic process in line with the change that we promised our teaming supporters during electioneering campaign.”
But Senator Dino Mealye of the Like Minds Senators debunked the insinuation that there was no quorum when the election of Saraki was conducted.
Melaye said 76 senators were in attendance when Saraki was nominated.
He said they were not aware of any meeting called by President Muhammadu Buhari while arguing that there is no tangible truth that the meeting was called by Buhari.