Senate: Saraki's camp jittery over EFCC hammer
.Plans to arrest Saraki, Ekweremadu alleged
.Lawan's camp threatens showdown over suspension moves
Ahead of Tuesday's resumption of the Senate, more controversies have continued to envelop the Red Chamber with the latest revolving around the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki's doorstep.
Although the latest controversy was preceded by an alleged forgery scandal against the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the invitation of the wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has upset the Saraki's camp.
The camp, in the Senate, otherwise known as the''Like Minds' is now running from post to pillar, alleging foul play in the invitation of Mrs. Saraki by the EFCC. The news of the anti-corruption agency's invitation of the Senate President's wife first broke on Tuesday.
Mrs. Saraki, whose husband was governor of Kwara State for eight years - (2003 to 2011), was invited by the EFCC over alleged money laundering during the tenure of her husband.
During her husband's reign in Kwara State, her NGO - Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBF Africa), was everywhere in the state fighting maternal mortality and seeing to the plights of orphans and vulnerable children. The fixing of her appearance day for Tuesday, the same day the Senate is expected to resume from recess is seen as a deliberately ploy to decimate the Saraki camp in the Senate. And it is believed that the wife will be used to get at Saraki who has been having a running battle with the commission.
First to vent their anger on the EFCC invitation were APC Senators who are members of the 'Like Minds' group. Senator Dino Melaye, who spoke for the group, questioned the rationale behind the invitation in the face of the leadership tussle facing the Senate with her husband being the principal actor. Before the noise made by the APC senators loyal to Saraki went down, the uproar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators followed.
Saraki won the June 9th election at the Senate with the massive support of the PDP.
The senators, in a statement signed by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi representing Delta North Senatorial District, said any attempt to unleash the anti-graft agencies on members of the National Assembly as a result of the leadership crisis would not only be constitutionally and lawfully resisted but could have dire consequences on the governance of the country.
Also, Saraki's camp yesterday raised alarm over alleged moves by the Lawan's camp to organise the arrest of the Senate President and Senator Ekweremadu using the police and the EFCC.
According to them, "The new move by Lawan's group is to get Saraki and Ekweremadu arrested or get Saraki harassed to the point where he will be helpless and unable to halt any attempt to impeach Ekweremadu.
They said Lawan's group and their sponsors are enlisting many close associates of Buhari, including three of the APC governors and others to, "persuade Buhari that he should not continue to steer clear of events in the National Assembly.
"They want to exhume an old case in the EFCC which had earlier been investigated under the Jonathan's administration against Saraki. They will seek to use the EFCC to arrest the Senate President on the strength of the case and put him on trial. While the trial is going on, overtures will be made to pro-Saraki senators on the need to dump him and get another Senate President elected," they said.
According to Saraki's supporters, similar move is being made against Ekweremadu based on the expected report of the police investigation on the alleged forgery of the 2015 Standing Rule of the Senate.
"Even if nothing comes out of the trials, the two men would have been sufficiently embarrassed to such extent that it will be easy to get their fellow senators to dump them or they can encourage others to get interested in their positions," they added.
The senators however expressed optimism that the move would boomerang and urged their colleagues to always place the interest of the country ahead of their personal interest.
A senator also said this fresh move will backfire as it will only over-heat the polity.
Meanwhile, Senators who petitioned the police over alleged doctoring of Senate Rules have threatened a showdown over the moves by the leadership of the Senate to suspend them on Tuesday when the Senate resumes.
In separate interviews, the chief petitioner Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi and Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central) said they will resist any attempt to push them out of the red chamber illegally.
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