I am not leaving APC —Saraki

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said he has no plans of leaving his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Saraki said this on Sunday, in reaction to a question posed to him on his Twitter page.

He had been accused of planning to dump the APC for another party because of the belief that some chieftains of the party, including President Muhammadu Buhari and a national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, were among those behind his travails with the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

This was more so as he removed his party’s name from his Twitter biography.

The CCT had, on Friday, issued a bench warrant for Saraki’s arrest.

The tribunal, headed by Justice Danladi Umar, ordered the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, to produce him today before the CCT.

Arase has, however, said he was yet to receive the order of the tribunal.

In response to the question on if he was planning to dump the APC, Saraki wrote: “I remain a card carrying member of my dear party, but I’m also honoured to serve as Senate president of all senators.”

Meanwhile, loyalists of Saraki and senators opposed to him were busy weighing options available to them on Sunday, following the trial of the Senate President at the CCT.

While members of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), the group of senators in support of the position of the APC, continued their consultations in readiness of the possible fallout of the CCT trial of Saraki, his supporters, mostly of the Like Minds Senators, were also moving to consolidate his hold on the red chamber.

It was gathered that the SUF had decided to lie low and allow the ongoing trial get to a head, while they continued the needed consultations behind the scenes.

A source said one of the forces against Saraki was pushing for an “Obasanjo option,” which is to pull through the planned arrest and detention of the Senate president, irrespective of the order of the Federal High Court on the issue.

Those behind this agenda were claiming that the CCT was not lower than the High Court and that its orders could only be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Others were, however, expressing caution that the “Obasanjo option” could look drastic and reduce the government’s democratic credentials, especially as the government was still smarting from the fallouts of the invasion of Akwa-Ibom Government House.

It was also gathered that loyalists of the Senate president had decided to hold a unity meeting of all senators on September 28, a day before the advertised resumption.

Although a source said the resumption date no longer remain sacrosanct, it was gathered that the meeting was being planned to prepare the ground for Saraki’s solid control of the chamber.

In another development, a new twist appeared to have crept into workings of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), as a member of the Bureau, on Sunday, said the trial was a contradiction of the Act setting up the CCB and the CCT.

The member who spoke on condition of anonymity said the bureau failed to follow the provision of Section 3(d) of its own law by referring Saraki to trial.

The member said the normal procedure, according to the Section 3(d) of the Act, was that the Bureau should set up a committee to determine whether or not an infraction had been committed by any public officer after submitting his/her asset declaration forms.

Section 3(d) of the CCB Act states: “The functions of the Bureau shall be ....to receive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of this Act and where the Bureau considers it necessary to do so, refer such complaints to the Code of Conduct Tribunal established by Section 20 of this Act in accordance with Section 20 to 25 of this Act.

“Provided that where the person concerned makes a written admission of such breach or non-compliance, no reference to the Tribunal shall be necessary.”