The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress
\n(APC), Comrade Timi Frank has described the continued trial of the Senate
\nPresident, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal
\n(CCT) as worrisome in view of the manifest flaws in the processes leading
\nto the arraignment of Saraki.<\/p>\n
Frank in a statement in Abuja, said it was dangerous that the leadership
\nof the APC has decided to sit on the fence and watch Saraki swim or sink
\nin this trial.
\nHe said: I sincerely hold that the current trial of Saraki is not only
\nunderserved, but amounts to paying a good man with evil. I also want to
\nsay that the leaders of our great party have unfortunately remained quiet
\nin the face of evil. \u201cI don\u2019t believe we have forgotten that the victory
\nof the APC during the last general elections could not have been possible
\nwithout courageous strategists like Saraki who lent their political weight
\nin favour of the APC at the risk of their own lives and personal survival.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we have forgotten how Saraki as a Senator in the 7th
\nSenate brought the attention of Nigerians to the fraud perpetrated by the
\nthe last administration in the name of fuel subsidy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we have forgotten so soon how Saraki led five other
\ngovernors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC \u2013 a
\ndevelopment that successfully turned the political tide against the PDP
\nand eventually tipped the electoral scale against them during the 2015
\ngeneral elections. \u201cI don\u2019t think we have forgotten how Saraki led scores
\nof Senators to cross over to the APC on the floor of the Senate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we have also forgotten what he gave of his time, personal
\nresources and energy to ensure that the APC emerged victorious both at
\nthe National, State and Local Government level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is: Why is the case of Saraki being treated differently at
\nthe CCT that in 2011 struck out the case against one of our national
\nleaders because he was not given the opportunity to deny or admit the
\nalleged discrepancies in his asset declaration forms in line with Section
\n3(d) of the CCB\/CCT Act unlike 11 other ex-governors who had similar
\ncases of irregularities whose cases were dropped by the CCB after they
\nwere invited by the agency.\u201d For the avoidance of doubt, Section 3(d) of
\nthe CCB\/CCT Act which has been so undermined by the CCT in its Thursday
\nruling states that the CCB shall: \u201cReceive complaints about
\nnon-compliance with or breach of this Act and where the Bureau (not the
\nAGF or EFCC) considers it necessary to do so, refer such complaints to
\nthe Code of Conduct Tribunal established by Section 20 of this Act in
\naccordance with the provisions of Sections 20 to 25 of this Act: provided
\nthat where the concerned makes a written admission of such breach or
\nnon-compliance, no reference to the Tribunal shall be necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is pertinent to mention that when this section of the Act was pleaded
\nin the defence of one of the leaders of the defunct Action Congress of
\nNigeria in 2011, the selfsame Justice Danlandi Umar struck out the case
\nfor lack of jurisdiction to entertain the suit when he ruled that that
\n\u201c\u2026On Section 3(d), I feel compelled by the argument of the learned SAN
\nfor the accused. It is a condition precedent for referring a charge to
\nthis Tribunal that the Accused ought to have been invited to either deny
\nor admit the allegations against him. This is missing in this case as the
\nComplainant has no such evidence of a prior invitation. It would be
\nproper for me at this stage to simply decline further exercise of
\njurisdiction having held that the co diction precedent to the instituting
\nof charges against the Accused has not been complied with. I hereby
\nresolve this issue in favour of the Accused\u2026\u201d He added:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is based on the above precedent that I want to ask why Saraki\u2019s case
\nis different? Why is the judiciary suddenly giving in to apparent
\nblackmail from a section of the media by refusing to do their job as
\nrequired by law? \u201cAlready the Senate President has told the world that the
\ntrial has nothing to do with corruption but that he is being persecuted
\nfor emerging as the Senate President. To me the ominous silence of our
\nleaders since the day he was arraigned up till now serves to validate the
\nclaims of the Senate President that he is being persecuted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr where else in the world will the number three citizen of a country be
\nhulled before a tribunal over alleged irregularities in his asset
\ndeclaration forms 13 years ago, and the hierarchy of the ruling party to
\nwhich he is a bonafide member will not come out to show solidarity or
\ndefend him? \u201cIf it is true that the trial of the Senate President is not
\nborne out of genuine desire to fight corruption but is being carried out
\nfor selfish political ends, then who is next?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the party need to be courageous enough to speak out against this
\nunwholesome trend whose outcome will definitely not augur well for the
\noverall development of our party and by extension the country at this
\nhour. \u201cEven the holy scriptures admonish us not to muzzle the ox that
\nthresh the corn. Saraki has paid his dues at a time it was suicidal for
\nanybody to stand up against the then ruling PDP. I believe it is time for
\nall of us to act to save our party. It is time to rally round our generals
\nwho have fought valiantly and led us to victory. To abandon Saraki is to
\nabandon a worthy comrade.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank has described the continued trial of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki at the Code…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n