Tag: NASS

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied its National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole is part of the drama that rocked the National Assembly (NASS) on Tuesday.

TheNewsGuru reports the party made this known while stressing that like every concerned Nigerian the party was monitoring the developments at the NASS.

“Our attention has been drawn to mischievous attempts in some partisan quarters to link developments at NASS to the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

“While the Party is monitoring the developments at NASS like every concerned Nigerian and stakeholder, there is absolutely no basis for the false allegations and attempt to blame the National Chairman for the development there. It is strictly a legislative matter,” the APC stated.

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Comrade Timi Frank, had earlier accused the National Chairman of the APC, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DG-DSS), Lawan Daura and 30 APC Senators – led by the Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan, of spearheading a fresh plot to illegally impeach the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

Frank who raised the alarm in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday morning, said the group met last night in Abuja to perfect strategies on how to carry out the plot.

He said that he has reliable information that the meeting was at the instance of Oshiomhole who is currently pressurizing President Muhammadu Buhari to accept his proposal of using “crude tactics” to topple Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

He said according reliable information emanating from the meeting, National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the APC, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, joined Oshiomhole in pushing for the illegality while some APC Senators and House of Representatives members at the meeting kicked against the plot saying any “forceful removal of Saraki without due process will not fly with Nigerians.”

The lawmakers, according to Frank, were said to have further alerted Oshiomhole and the APC leadership that they only have 30 Senators on ground which will fall short of the 73 Senators required to lawfully impeach Saraki.

According to them, while other APC Senators have since travelled out of the country on vacation, a proposal to appoint Senator Lawan from Yobe State as Saraki’s replacement would be a direct violation of the Federal Character Principle since the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara is from Bauchi in the Northeast zone like Lawan.

Following the red flag raised by some of the APC Senators who warn of the consequences of the proposed illegality, according to Frank, the meeting was said to have been rescheduled to reconvene by 11am this morning to enable Oshiomhole to call Mr. President in London at 9am this morning to brief him on the progress made so far.

It was further learnt that Oshiomhole is expected to present the candidature of both Senators Lawan and George Akume to the President to make his choice during his proposed telephone conversation with Mr. President by 9am.

He added that the Presidency through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has increased the $400,000 it is already offering to lure individual lawmakers to support the plot to illegally impeach Saraki to $500,000. He said the lawmakers are also being wooed with offers to drop all corruption charges against them by the Federal Government.

He insisted that Saraki’s life and personal safety is at stake while appealing to Nigerians and leaders of the international community to urgently speak out to protect the President of the Senate, Saraki, and safeguard democracy in Nigeria.

He said that the illegal plot to break into the Senate Chambers to illegally impeach Saraki, if allowed to happen, could lead to chaos and anarchy of unimaginable proportion in the country, capable of burying the nation’s democracy apart from the danger it portents for the lives, security and safety of Nigerians.