A gale of defections hits the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as some members of the National Assembly dump the party mainly for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Patrick Andrew examines the issues behind the defection.
Delayed expectation Tuesday, the 24th of July seems like every other normal day for most Nigerians.
Not so the leadership of the National Assembly.
The residence of the Senate President, Nigeria’s third citizen by political ranking, Senator Bukola Sarraki, was invaded by heavily armed security operatives, who blocked entrances into the residence.
Besides, the home of his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, equally suffered same fate as the law enforcement officers took over the residence and prevented inflow and outflow of traffic.
The invasion of their residences was ostensibly to prevent from going out to conduct their normal legislative business.
There were alleged plots to effect leadership and thus prevent defection of some members of the National Assembly from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Prior to the invasion, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, had asked Senate President Bukola Saraki, to appear at the office of Intelligence Response Team (IRT) office in Abuja, to state what he knows about the robbery incident that took place in Offa, Kwara state, in April this year.
In a letter dated July 23 and addressed to Saraki, the police IG asked the Senate President to be at IRT’s office at 8am on Tuesday “for further investigation”.
The Police earlier alleged that some of the robbery suspects confessed that they were Saraki’s thugs, an allegation he has since denied.
The lawmaker was asked to appear at force headquarters for questioning, but the police eventually said Saraki should not appear in person but respond to the allegations of the suspects in writing.
Whereas the Police wanted Saraki over alleged implication in robbery case, his deputy Ekweremadu whose residence was equally cordoned off was not labeled with any particular allegation until later in the day when the charge of money laundry suddenly emerged.
Uche Anichukwu, the Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President, who provided update on the police siege on the Deputy Senate President’s home, said nothing about the allegation but it was later reported that the Police wants Ekweremadu to answer for money laundry.
Ekweremadu said he was expected to preside over Tuesday’s plenary in the absence of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, but the invasion stopped him.
The statement read: “The Apo Legislative Quarters residence of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, is currently under the siege of men of the Nigeria Police Force and the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“With the President of the Senate, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, expected to report to the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force in Guzappe, Abuja, this Tuesday morning, Senator Ekweremadu is expected to preside over plenary.
“They took over the entire vicinity before 6:00 a.m.
There is no going in or coming out.
Meanwhile, there was no prior invitation to the senator by any of the security agencies or the EFCC.” Invitation as political game Before the invasion, the Senate President had described the police invitation as “a mere after thought which is designed to achieve political purpose.” In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said he had it on good authority that the Police had already decided on the suspects to arraign in court in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday Clearly, the alleged involvement in the Offa bank robbery was a ploy according to the Senate President who insisted that it was all aimed at thwarting those who are aggrieved members of the APC and are determined to exit the party.
based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mohammed U.E.
and that the turn around to invite him was a ploy aimed at scoring cheap political points.
He said: “I have been reliably informed that the police invitation was planned by the IG as a ploy to stop an alleged plan by some Senators and House of Representatives members from defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was also said that if I was detained between Tuesday and Wednesday, that will abort the so-called defection plan’.
Coming down hard on the Police, Saraki said: “The Police have obviously corrupted and politicized their investigations into the Offa robbery incident.
They have turned it into an instrument for the party in power to suppress perceived opponents, blackmail people from freely choosing which platform they want to pursue their ambition and a matter for harassing the people whose exit from APC would harm the chances of the party in the forthcoming elections.
“I want to make it apparent that I have no hand in either the robbery incident or any criminal activity.
The Police in their haste to embarrass me sent the invitation to me at 8pm and requested that I report to the station by 8am tomorrow morning.
This obviously demonstrated their desperation as I do not see why they are now in a hurry”.
Clearly, the alleged involvement in the Offa bank robbery was a ploy according to the Senate President who insisted that it was all aimed at thwarting those who are aggrieved members of the APC and are determined to exit the party.
“This plot aimed at compelling me and my associates to stay in a party where members are criminalized without just cause, where injustice is perpetrated at the highest level and where there is no respect for constitutionalism is an exercise in futility and it will fail”.
Police deny, kick The Nigeria Police Force however denied the allegations that the Senate President’s residence was besieged by its personnel.
The Police said those seen in pictures in front of his house were personnel in his convoy.
The Force also insisted that the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki must honour its invitation.
On the allegation that his house was besieged, the Police said: “The Nigeria Police Force’s attention was also drawn to the innuendos in the early hours of today that some Police men were seen surrounding the residence of the Senate President; the Force wishes to categorically state that there was no authorised deployment of Police personnel to besiege the residence of the Senate President or his deputy as reported in the media.
“The police personnel seen in pictures in the media were those in the convoy of the Senate President and others attached to him.” Moshood also stated that the IG has directed a thorough investigation to ascertain the facts in the episode adding that the Force will not allow the end of justice to be perverted by the distraction.
The Force also assured that it will ensure that the rule of law prevails in the matter.
Failed attempt Despite lining the streets and blocking entrances to the residence of the Senate President, Saraki beat the Police and made his way into the hallowed chamber of the Senate and presided over plenary.
Saraki was not in the vehicle when a detachment of security operatives blocked his convoy at his Apo residence.
The security operatives had aimed at preventing them from leaving the house.
Sources said Saraki had drove himself into the National Assembly complex in a rickety private vehicle.
He reportedly sensed a sinister move by the opposing camp, at the National and decided to outsmart them by quickly sneaking into the National Assembly with a vehicle he drove.
In same vein, Ekweremadu also outsmart the security operatives that camped at his house and made it to the Senate.
PDP speaks The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has urged Nigerians to caution President Muhammadu Buhari, saying his actions are detrimental to the survival of democracy in the country.
In a statement in Abuja, the PDP chairman said it was unfortunate that President Buhari allowed the siege on the leadership of the National Assembly by security agencies to happen under his watch.
According to him, it was bad that President Buhari, who was a beneficiary of democracy in 2015, has allegedly done nothing “but destroyed every fabric of democracy and the rule of law” in the country.
He alleged that the Federal Government was using the security agencies to overthrow the leadership of the National Assembly in “order to make it comatose.” Defection tsunami sweeps 15 senators, 37 Reps Eventually, he presided and read the letters of defection from 15 senators who formally opted out of the All Progressives Congress.
He also succeeded in adjourning the plenary sine dine.
Similarly, a total of 37 members of the House of Representatives announced their official defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In the defection letter read by Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House, the lawmakers cited fictionalization and division in the party as their reason for leaving.
The details include 33 lawmakers from Kano, Sokoto, Kwara, Kogi and other states, who defected from the APC to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The four others are from Oyo State who defected from the APC to African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The defection was announced a while ago by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, amidst chant of PDP, APC, Change, Sai Baba, etc, renting the air.
Dogara described the whole commotion as the “beauty of democracy.” Failed impeachment plot? Few months ago, a plot was allegedly hatched to effect leadership change in the National Assembly: first in the Senate and subsequently in the House of Representatives.
Last April, there was an attempt to dethrone Saraki, according to reliable sources, While Saraki was again away in the United States for the spring meeting of the IMF/ World Bank, some thugs allegedly close to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) snatched the mace on April 19, 2018, the plan was simply to embarrassed Ekweremadu who presided and ostensibly effect a change in the leadership of the Senate.
“The plan by some senators was to seize the mace, disrupt proceedings and force the chamber to abandon plenary.
With the mace in their possession, the senators would come back into the chamber, appoint a Senate president pro-tempore, hold a session during which they would impeach the Senate leadership.
“But unknown to them, there was a spare mace.
So, rather than adjourn, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu sent for the second mace and continued the Senate plenary as if nothing had happened, leading to the end of that plan.” The source, however, doubted if the latest attempt would be the last.
That attempt was the second plot to effect a change in the leadership of Senate headed by the Senate president, Bukola Saraki.
The first attempt was on March 24, 2018, when Saraki was billed to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for an official engagement.
His aides and some senators, including Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), had already gone ahead of him.
“That day, Saraki who attended the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Aliko Dangote, left the venue of the ceremony to board a presidential jet in Lagos and was about to take off when he got a call tipping him off about an alleged grand plot to remove him and his deputy.
However, Saraki got hint and made a detour for Abuja instead of Geneva and quickly begin to hold meetings upon meetings throughout the weekend and subsequently neutralised the plot.
Third time failure A principal actor in the antiSaraki camp of the Senate told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday morning that the plan, which he described as the second attempt at taking over the Senate, after the second attempt; the mace theft saga failed on the altar of “hypocrisy”.
According to Premium Times, a few senators led by Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan sidelined other loyalists of the president, including the Parliamentary Support Group, led by Abdullahi Adamu, in executing the latest plan.
“There is too much hypocrisy and selfishness.
Those who planned it wanted to be the sole beneficiaries of the leadership change,” the senator said, asking not to be named.
A decision among the senators on who succeeds Saraki, in the event the plot succeeded, reportedly punctured the plan.
Two names were prominent – Lawan, who was leading the putsch, and Ali Ndume, a former Senate Leader who was removed from his post and suspended allegedly at the instance of Saraki.
A senator from the Southsouth said that presenting an “acceptable candidate” like Ndume, who he described as a “friend of all” would have helped the cause of the Buhari loyalists.
Ndume however claimed ignorance of the plan when contacted Tuesday afternoon.
“I just got back to Abuja last night.
I cannot comment,” he said.
“Some of us told them that it would be illogical and it amounted to insensitivity to take the Senate president slot to the North-east, the same zone as the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” another APC senator explained.
“And since the speaker [Yakubu Dogara] is very strong at the House of Representatives and there is nothing we could do about him, the best thing was to keep the Senate President position in the North-Central.” The altercations over who takes the throne eventually led some of the involved in the plot to leak the plan to Saraki who acted fast to counter it.
