Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has said that the forgery charges against him and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu represent another phase in the persecution of the leadership of the Senate.
Saraki had on Monday appeared before a Federal High Court in Abuja alongside his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, former clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Efeturi.
“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,” he said in a statement issued after the court session.
Accusing some people in the Executive of being after him, Saraki said that the charges against him constituted a violation of the principle of separation of powers. He also said that the charges did not serve any national interest.
"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 a 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 on 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,” he said.
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