Bukola Saraki

The people democratic party, Kwara state chapter has released a statement that said they are behind the sudden probe of Toyin Saraki EFCC probe. Toyin Saraki, wife to the senate president, Bukola Saraki, was recently invited by the anti-graft agency for questionings.

In a statement released by the PDP, Kwara chapter, spokesperson, Rex Olawoye said :

It has become imperative to inform the members of the public that we have every reason to believe that a petition recently submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kwara state chapter is largely responsible for the invitation and eventual criminal prosecution of the former Kwara First Lady and wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki

                  
It will be recalled that our party had sometime early this year discreetly submitted a petition to the EFCC detailing how certain individuals in high places under the past administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki milked the state dry and left the people more impoverished than they met them.

In the said petition, we carefully chronicled how state officials, including former First Lady, Toyin Saraki, former Special Adviser to the Governor on MDGs, Mr. Ope Saraki, Personal Assistant (PA) to ex-Governor Bukola Saraki, one Mr. Abdul Adama from Kogi State, a former Commissioner for Information, Mr. Tunji Morounfoye, all working in a ring, got enmeshed in a cesspool of corruption unprecedented in the history of Kwara state or any other state of the federal for that matter!

Although, we believe that the arrest and prosecution of Mrs. Toyin Saraki is long overdue, we nevertheless take solace under the fact that the long arm of the law seems to have finally caught up with her and her cronies. We are particularly delighted that our painstaking efforts at chronicling the monumental heist that defined the eight years, almost uneventful rule of former Governor Bukola Saraki in Kwara, has not gone unnoticed.

Read: Corruption: EFCC Invites Bukola Saraki Wife, And Former President Musa Yar'adua Daughter On Corruption Charges

We, therefore, commend the EFCC for its resourcefulness and painstakingness. We pledge our cooperation with the EFCC and all other relevant anti-graft agencies to ensure that all those who knowingly looted our collective patrimony, but now walking the streets of Kwara free with their ill-gotten wealth, do not go unpunished.

We urge the anti-graft agency not to buckle in to pressure or blackmail that is already being mounted by political jobbers over Mrs. Saraki’s invitation by the EFCC. Instead of sponsoring paid activist-for-hire to stampede the EFCC out of the prosecution, one would have thought that the most moral thing for Toyin Saraki and her handlers to do now is to allow the law to take its cause. Since the duo of Ope Saraki and Tunji Morounfoye are already standing trial for their crimes, one would expect Mrs. Saraki too to seize the moment and clear her name, instead of playing to the gallery.

For the avoidance of doubt, we reiterate that the offences Mrs. Saraki is being accused of are criminal in nature and such offenses are not known to be statute-barred. Therefore, the fact that it took over five years after Mrs. Saraki left office as Kwara First Lady before she is eventually brought before the law does not matter.

What matters is that justice is ultimately served, especially for the sake of the hard-working Kwara civil servants, poor Kwara farmers and the promising children of Kwara who were and are still being subjected to all manners of deprivations as a result of the rapaciousness of a privileged few who could not contain the temptations to stare clear the cookie jar.

 Nigerians have pointed accusing fingers to APC leader,Bola Ahmed Tinubu for instigating the EFCC to launch against the wife of Bukola Saraki for his last minute game play in winning the Senate presidency, a move that almost splits the APC into 2 different halves.

Read : Bukola Saraki Emerges Senate President, Shunned Meeting With President Muhammadu Buhari

According to Saharareporters, a passport page of Bukola Saraki was recently published on their Facebook page. The passport shows that the current senate president of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki is a dual citizen and a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Bukola Saraki was the former governor of Kwara state from 2003 to 2011 and had run for the office of the senate under All progressive Congress(APC). The current allegation against Bukola Saraki might mean the current senate president of Nigeria is not qualified to have run for any of the offices he held, even before he was elected senate president.

According to the Nigeria constitution protecting the office of the senate presidency, stating who is qualified to run for the position :

 66. (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if:

(a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to such a country;

(b) under any law in force in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind;

(c) he is under a sentence of death imposed on him by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for an offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or any other offence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court;

(d) within a period of less than 10 years before the date of an election to a legislative house, he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of a contravention of the Code of Conduct;

(e) he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of Nigeria;

(f) he is a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State and has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment 30 days before the date of election;

(g) he is a member of a secret society;

(h) he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry Law or any other law by the Federal or State Government which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or State Governments respectively; or.

(i) he has presented a forged certificate to the Independence National Electoral Commission.

Bukola Saraki, new senate president is currently trending on Twitter after he was announced the senate president yesterday in a news that shock APC leaders and political analyst. According to reports, Bukola Saraki have noticed that the APC leaders are not going to nominate him as the party senate president, and because of that had to jump different ships to attain the power he so much wanted.

After he had shunned a meeting with Vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, calling him a mere commissioner, though he later denied the news, the senate president also shunned another meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, after he had told him he will be at the meeting with the president and other APC senators.

The APC had chosen Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as their preferred candidates for enate Presidency and Speaker slots respectively.

But in a move Nigerian are calling smart move, Bukola Saraki emerged as the Senate president with support from PDP supporters and some APC supporters who are loyal to Saraki. The APC and PDP senate also elect Yakubu Dogara as Speaker over the APC candidate, Gbajabiamila.

Mr Buhari had arranged a meeting with the APC senators after his arrival from the G7 summit in Germany, a meeting Bukola Saraki had assured the president, he will attend at the International Conference Centre, but instead he went ahead to attend a marathon meeting with members of the People Democratic Party(PDP) to garner adequate support for his election as Senate president.

APC members, APC senators, Bola Tinubu, President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo all woke up to hear the news of Bukola Saraki as senate president on Tuesday.

President Buhari felt deceived and did not bother to attend the meeting he had previously called.

Mr Bukola Saraki was quickly sworn in ignoring the president proclamation for the inauguration of the National Assembly, using a letter from President Buhari to be inaugurated. 57 senators loyal to Mr Saraki, most of the PDP members, unanimously elected him, after he had been nominated by Dino Melaye and Sanni Yerima.

Two of the APC staunch member, Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara have been adopted by PDP as Senate president and speaker of the house of representatives. The move haS happened after PDP might have sensed trouble in the paradise of the All progressive congress after the embattled individuals walked out of the mock election that happened at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Bukola Saraki who was one of the members that see to the election of APC presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari is not happy with the party arrangement of using Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for the leadership of the National Assembly.

PDP has urged his senators and house of rep members-elect in the National Assembly to act accordingly, by voting Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as their adopted candidate.

The information was contained in a letter signed by the PDP publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh. 

What could these disagreements in less than a month mean to the organization of the APC? .

In a meeting called by the vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to offer a truce, senator Saraki boycotted the meeting and said he he Could Not Be Summoned To A Meeting By A ‘Commissioner’, referring to the vice-president who was a commissioner of Justice in Lagos state, when he (Saraki) was a governor in Kwara state. Saraki then became a senator while Professor Osinbajo is not the vice-president.

Following the snub and statement of Bukola Saraki, Professor Osinbajo did not attend the meeting, but the party met with is lawmakers and other Saraki earlier supporters joining the meeting. 

The National Working Committee of APC has declared their support for any candidates chosen during Saturday’s mock primaries of the party.