President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described
President Muhammadu Buhari’s reaction to Tuesday’s election of National
Assembly leaders as a “great mark of leadership” and a demonstration of
the President’s commitment to democracy.
In a statement issued by his media office on Wednesday, Dr. Saraki
commended President Buhari for remaining steadfast in his commitment to
the principle of non-interference in National Assembly politics even in
the face of great pressure on him to act otherwise. “This shows that Mr.
President is a man of great conviction who, in his own words, belong to
everyone and to no one,” the statement reads.
On a similar vein, Dr. Saraki also denies that he had a plan to decamp to
the People’s Democratic Party, describing the insinuation as ” absurd and
laughable.” According to him, “it is just cheap blackmail by political
adversaries who want to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it. And
those making such desperate allegations should remember that I willingly
left the PDP on matters of principles when the party was in power. Is it
now that the party is out of government and in opposition that I will now
return having worked so hard for my party in the last general elections,”
he queried.
He stated his commitment to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he
remains a loyal party member and a leader of the party, committed to
contributing his quota to building the party and helping it to deliver its
promise of change to Nigerian people.
He urged all members of the National Assembly to put politicking behind
them and settle down for the proper business of legislating. “Our country
is going through a very trying times. We have the challenge of insecurity
in the North East. The massive problem of youth unemployment and general
economic challenges occasioned by mako fall in revenue. All these against
the huge public expectation that propelled our party into office. We have
pursued our legitimate aspirations appropriately. Now that the issues have
been settled, we need to move on in the larger interest of our people,
without whose mandate we would not have been in a position to aspire to
these positions in the first place.”
He stated his readiness to embrace every member of the Senate regardless
of their political leanings in the leadership elections just concluded.