Statement
on Commencement of Trial at FCT High Court
Abuja,
Nigeria, June 27, 2016, we the leaders of the Nigerian Senate reiterate our
innocence against the charges filed by the Attorney General of the Federal
Government of Nigeria at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on the
allegations of forgery of the Senate Standing Rules document.
In
our view, the charges filed by the Attorney General represent a violation of
the principle of the Separation of Powers between the Executive Branch and the
Legislative Branch as enshrined in our Constitution. Furthermore, it is farcical to allege that a
criminal act occurred during Senate procedural actions and the mere suggestion
demonstrates a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General. These
trumped up charges is only another phase in the relentless persecution of the
leadership of the Senate
This
misguided action by the Attorney General begs the question, how does this
promote the public interest and benefit the nation? At a time when the whole of government should
be working together to meet Nigeria’s many challenges, we are once again
distracted by the Executive Branch’s inability to move beyond a leadership
election among Senate peers. It was not an election of Senate peers and
Executive Branch participants.
Over
the past year the Senate has worked to foster good relations with the Executive
Branch. It is in all of our collective
interests to put aside divisions and get on with the nation’s business. We risk alienating and losing the support of
the very people who have entrusted their national leaders to seek new and creative
ways to promote a secure and prosperous Nigeria. As leaders and patriots, it is time to rise
above partisanship and to move forward together.
However,
what has become clear is that there is now a government within the government
of President Buhari who have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue
their nefarious agenda.
This
latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to
the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve. The suit filed on behalf of the Federal
government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not
fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the
legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.
Let
it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will
continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been
visited on me. In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, “the ultimate measure
of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but
where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy”.
I
will remain true and committed to the responsibilities that my citizenship and
my office impose on me. Without doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is
the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the
desecration of the Senate. This is a cross I am prepared to carry. If yielding
to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent in undermining our
democracy and destabilising the Federal government to satisfy their selfish
interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of
jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.
Signed
Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
President,
Senate of the Federal Republic
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