Buhari’s Vacation, Ploy To Impeach Saraki, Ekweremadu — PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Thursday that President Muhammadu Buhari’s ten-day vacation in London was a ploy to impeach Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and inflict impunity on the National Assembly.

The party further alleged that the vacation was designed as an alibi to exonerate him from planned political illegalities, forceful invasion, and mayhem about to be visited on the polity and, particularly, the National Assembly.

In a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, its Spokesman, the PDP said it was aware of the plot to undermine the National Assembly.

The PDP said, “The party is aware of plots already perfected in a meeting, on Wednesday night, between the presidency and some compromised All Progressives Congress (APC) senators, who are now in the minority, to forcefully reconvene the Senate with protection from security agencies, with a view to impeaching Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

“The PDP knows that the desperation to illegally take control of the National Assembly is part of the design to undermine our democratic institutions and completely foist a dictatorial regime on our nation.

“The planned invasion is also a bid to cover the atrocious and humongous corruption of the Buhari administration, which the National Assembly is set to expose.

“The PDP has been reliably informed about how these APC senators, especially members of the Buhari Parliamentary Support Group (BPSG), have been provided with huge sums of money, illegally lifted from repatriated funds, to carry out this nefarious act under the guise of urgent need to approve funds for the 2019 general elections.

“It is clear that President Buhari and the APC are hugely terrified and distressed by the gale of defections from their fold and have resorted to underhand methods, threats and intimidation, irrespective of the damage being inflicted on the polity.

“Having been demeaned by the widespread condemnation of the recent siege on the residences of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, in addition to the invasion of the Benue State House of Assembly in a failed attempt to impeach Governor Samuel Ortom and forcefully take over the state, President Buhari is now jetting out of the country so as to appear innocent and oblivious of the political terrors about to be unleashed on the National Assembly.”

It added that, in 2014, Buhari had applauded the defection of PDP members, including the then leaders of the National Assembly, into his APC, describing the movement, then, as ‘good for democracy’.

“Today, his administration is hounding and harassing citizens for daring to defect from his failed party.

“Besides, Nigerians will recall that the PDP had earlier alerted of plots by President Buhari to enmesh the 2019 general election in controversy by asking for virement of funds already approved in the 2018 budget for development projects instead of sending a fresh supplementary budget for the election.”

The party said if the presidency meant well for Nigeria, it should have sent a supplementary budget and duly write the leadership of the National Assembly, instead of plotting to forcefully take over the federal legislature and push our nation into serious constitutional crisis.

The PDP said President Buhari must be held responsible for any abuse of power, disregard for rule of law, and assault on democratic institutions, even in his absence from the country.

The party, however, reminded President Buhari and the APC that the PDP was now in an incontrovertible majority in the Senate and that “we are ready and able to protect our democracy with all instruments available in the constitution and parliamentary rule books.”