Timi Frank, deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says Senate President Bukola Saraki is being persecuted for emerging the country’s No. 3 citizen against the wish of the party.
He added that the senate president was being used as a scapegoat of the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The recent interview granted by the chairman of the APC (John Odigie-Oyegun) in some national dailies [on Sunday] has again vindicated my position on the crisis rocking the APC, which may finally put to rest the doubt that all is well within the APC,” he said.
“That the chairman of the ruling party will grant an interview on his personal opinion and asserting it to be the decision of the party, can at best be described as unfortunate and a carefully mapped out plan to rubbish the current trial of the senate president. It is on record, that there hasn’t been any NEC , NWC , BOT or caucus meeting of the party where such decision was taken to abandon the senate president to his fate.
“This move undoubtedly proves once more, that the chairman is acting on an already prepared script to incarcerate and make the senate president pay for his disobedience for not adhering to the party’s decision in contesting for the seat of the senate presidency.
“The chairman’s position on the current travails of the senate president at the CCT, is a clear indication that the APC under Chief Oyegun has spoken the minds of all those, that were in doubt that the persecution of the senate president is and may be politically motivated.
“Instead of allowing the court to take its course in finding the senate president guilty, having utilised his fundamental rights as enshrined in our constitution of the legality of his trial at the tribunal, one would have wondered the hurry in Chief Oyegun’s assertions.
“Having said therefore, wouldn’t it be most inappropriate for the chairman of the ruling party to allow for the trial to commence and for the court to conclude on its findings before hurriedly confirming the position of the party or the president in justifying the current travails of the senate president as his sole cross to bear.
“The chairman further emphasised that the party wouldn’t mind to lose it’s number three seat to the opposition PDP. This action as ridiculous as it may sound only goes to confirm that indeed the party may have hit the final nail in the coffin, having taking a position already on the fate of its number three man before the conclusion of the verdict of the court in confirming if the senate president is guilty or not.
“This supposedly hurried speech is another confirmation that an already prepared script is in the offing by those who will stop at nothing in seeing that the senate president is used as the scapegoat of the anti-corruption war of this administration.
“This may very well be in the offing since the senate president won the seat into the upper legislative chamber, which was seen as a move against the party ab initio.
“The chairman must be reminded of the role played by Senator Saraki in the emergence of the ruling party and if Chief Oyegun in all honesty believes that Senator Saraki should be the scapegoat for the ruling party, owing to his confirmation of bias in the ongoing trial of the senate president, then indeed the chairman has to be reminded that history has its way of repeating itself and reminding those who take it for granted when it beckons.”
