By Henry Umoru
ABUJA— SECRETARY to the Government of the Federation, David Lawal and some in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration have been accused of being the masterminds of plots to remove Senate President, Bukola Saraki, from office.
Lawal and others were also accused of being part of the team that did not want the Saraki matter resolved.
Speaking to journalists, yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isa Misau, APC, Bauchi Central, however, debunked insinuations that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, would take over the Senate if Saraki was removed.
The senator, who noted that what was needed to resolve the Saraki matter was political solution, said some hardliners in the administration were stalling the solution.
He alleged that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation recently met with some elders in the Senate, but turned down the requests.
He said: “I reliably gathered that some of our elders in the Senate once went to meet the Secretary to Federal Government, SGF, Mr. David Lawal, in order to find solutions to this problem.
‘’They were surprised by some of his utterances and they reported back to some senators that he vowed that this matter will not be resolved until Saraki goes down for spiting the party leadership.”
While speaking on the possible PDP take over of the senate, Misau said the senators of APC would do all within their powers to defeat the PDP if it came to producing another senate president.
He said: “What my friend, distinguished Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, said will not happen because the APC caucus of the Senate will under no circumstances allow Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki to be removed.
“But I understand the larger implication of what Nwaoboshi is saying because our majority in the Senate is very slim which means we need to be careful and that is why we need to find a political solution to this crisis and this trial of the Senate President at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”
The senator also clarified that senators of the APC recently decided to close ranks to ensure there was unity of purpose, adding that the meeting had nothing to do with the travails of Saraki.
Misau, who noted that the Senate President remained popular among senators across the geopolitical zones, said: “I am a Muslim and I know that nobody can be a leader without the will of the Almighty Allah.
‘’But I can tell you today that 99 percent of the senators are solidly behind Saraki. So what we call closing of ranks is actually for us to unite behind our leadership in the Senate, behind the Federal Government and also behind President Muhammadu Buhari,’’ he said.
According to him, the APC caucus in the senate has made several efforts to ensure political solution but regretted that interference of those he called hardliners.
He said: “Several efforts have been made and are still being made. However, there are challenges. Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s commendable position not to interfere, there are some hardliners within this government who are still fueling this matter and are, as a matter of fact, interfering with the trial.”