Senate President Bukola Saraki says he will not stand by and
watch the National leader of APC, Bola Tinubu create a wrong, false and
mischievous impression about him in the media.
Saraki in a statement released today, said this while
reacting to the the statement released by the National leader of APC, Bola
Tinubu, in which he alleged that Saraki and Sokoto state governor Aminu
Tambuwal, recently defected from the ruling party to the PDP because APC had
refused to succumb to their demands to share the nation’s wealth.
Tinubu in his statement titled “They go Away because We go
the Right Way'', said the two defectors, Tambuwal and Saraki, left the APC
because they “wanted automatic tickets and sharing of the national wealth which
the APC could not guarantee. The rest of the defectors were given similar
assurances by the PDP as to their offices. The APC refused to make such
bargains as they are part of the ancient regime; these bargains are not of our
democratic new way''
Saraki in his statement released this afternoon, said his
uncertain and complex relationship with Tinubu has been continually defined by
the event of 2014 when himself and other leaders of the APC opposed the Muslim-Muslim
ticket arrangement which was about to be foisted on the APC for the 2015 polls.
Saraki said he took the bull by the horns and told Tinubu that in the interest
of the country, he should accept the need for the party to present a balanced
ticket for the 2015 General Elections in terms of religion and geo-political
zones. Since that time he has been very active; plotting at every point to
undermine me, both within and outside the National Assembly. Read the full
statement from Saraki below
I have always restrained from joining issues in the media
with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and this is based on my respect for him.
However, I will not allow him to create a wrong, false and mischievous
impression about the reasons for my decision to exit the All Progressives
Congress (APC) and present his prejudice as facts for public consumption.
I have been consistent in my complaints to all leaders of
the APC, including Tinubu, that a situation where the National Assembly is not
constructively engaged or carried along in key policy decisions, particularly
those that will eventually require legislative approval, is not in the best
interest of the nation. No genuine leader of the legislature will be
comfortable that the Presidency will simply write a terse letter to the
National Assembly on key issues which the federal legislature is expected to
later deliberate upon and give its approval. The Buhari administration
consistently treats the legislature with contempt and acts as if the lawmaking
body should be an appendage of the Executive. To me, this is unacceptable.
In the same way, I find it very objectionable that many
stakeholders who worked strenuously to get the administration into office have
now been excluded in the government and not consulted on key decisions as
necessary and expected. In fact, some of them are treated as pariahs. A party
that ignores justice, equity and inclusion as basic pre-conditions for peace,
unity and stability cannot sustain its membership and leadership.
Let me redirect the attention of the former Governor of
Lagos State to the aspect of my July 31, 2018, statement announcing my exit
from APC in which I emphasized that the decision "has been inescapably
imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that
the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of
belonging did not exist".
In that statement, I further noted that those APC elements
"have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party
administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various
elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles
which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government
were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice,
equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within
the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as
additional pretext for further exclusion. The experience of my people and
associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and
have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become
disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress
and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a
government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the
cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my
people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation
elsewhere".
Tinubu himself will recall that during the various meetings
he had with me at the time he was pursuing reconciliation within the APC, I
raised all the above issues. I can also vividly recall that he himself always
expressed his displeasure with the style of the government and also mentioned
that he had equally suffered disrespect from the same government which we all
worked to put in office. I also made the point that whatever travails I have
gone through in the last three years belong to the past and will not shape my decisions
now and in the future.
However, during those meetings, the point of disagreement
between Tinubu and I is that while I expressed my worries that there is nothing
on ground to assure me that the administrative style and attitude would change
in the next four years in a manner that will enable us to deliver the positive
changes we promised to our people, he (Tinubu) expressed a strong opinion that
he would rather 'support a Buhari on the hospital stretcher' to get a second
term because in 2023, power will shift to the South-west. This viewpoint of Tinubu
was not only expressed to me but to several of my colleagues. So much for
acting in national interest.
It is clear that while my own decision is based on protecting
the collective national interest, Tinubu will rather live with the identified
inadequacies of the government for the sake of fulfilling and preserving his
presidential ambition in 2023. This new position of Tinubu has only
demonstrated inconsistency — particularly when one reviews his antecedents over
the years.
Again, let me reiterate my position that my uncertain and
complex relationship with Tinubu has been continually defined by the event of
2014 when myself and other leaders of the APC opposed the Muslim-Muslim ticket
arrangement about to be foisted on the APC for the 2015 polls. It should be
noted that he has not forgotten the fact that I took the bull by the horns and
told him that in the interest of the country, he should accept the need for the
party to present a balanced ticket for the 2015 General Elections in terms of
religion and geo-political zones. Since that time he has been very active;
plotting at every point to undermine me, both within and outside the National
Assembly.
It is a surprise to me that Asiwaju Tinubu is still peddling
the falsehood about the fact that my defection is about automatic ticket and
sharing of resources. Members of the public will recall that when the issue of
my decision to quit APC came to the fore and many APC leaders were holding
meetings with me, a newspaper owned by the same Tinubu published a false report
about the promise of automatic tickets, oil blocks and other benefits. I
immediately rebutted their claims and categorically stated that I never
discussed any such personal and pecuniary benefits with anybody. My challenge
that anybody who has contrary facts should come forward with them still remains
open.
It should be known that Democracy is a system that allows
people to freely make their choices. It is my choice that I have decided to
join others to present a viable alternative platform for Nigerians in the
coming elections. Tinubu and leaders of the APC had better respect this
decision or lawfully deal with it. As for me, Allah gives power to whom He
wishes. Human beings can only aspire and strive to fulfill their aspirations.
Signed:
Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
President of the Senate
