The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal, has thrown himself into the fray in respect of alleged forgery trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, asking the principal officers of the Senate to resign their positions.
The Senate, in a swift reaction last night, said the two principal officers of the Senate will not resign, insisting that it was being assaulted by the executive arm of government in the ongoing trial of its leaders.
But Lawal said, yesterday, that the Senate was not on trial for forgery, but that only the actors in the alleged act, the Senate President, his deputy and two others being prosecuted.
He also said the honourable thing for the duo to do was to resign as former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, who was accused of certificate forgery, did. The SGF was reacting to the allegation by Saraki that a “cabal” had hijacked the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as Ekweremadu’s statement that Buhari was exhibiting dictatorial tendencies.
In a statement he personally signed, Lawal said the positions of the Senate leaders were contradictory. He also described their statements as unfortunate, stating that the Federal Government was not deciding the trial of the duo.
Saraki and Ekweremadu are being tried before an FCT High Court for allegedly forging the Senate Standing Rules 2015.
The other accused persons are former Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, and his former deputy, Bernard Efeturi. Lawal stated that a case of forgery was usually preferred against individuals, recalling that such case of certificate forgery led to the resignation of one-time Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Salisu Buhari.
He said bringing the National Assembly as a body into the court case was unwarranted.
