Several calls for the Senate president Bukola Saraki to relinquish his post since after deciding to defect from the ruling APC party to the main opposition party, PDP has fallen on deaf ears.
The leader of the National Assembly, NASS- the legislative branch of government, formally left the All Progressive Congress (APC) in order to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the pretext of having ”irreconcilable differences” with power brokers within the APC.
On Wednesday, Saraki, Nigeria’s third most powerful political figure addressed a World Press Conference. The early morning siege by elements of the Department of Security Services on the facility of the National Assembly, where the Senate and House of Peoples Representative’s commune.
He described the siege on the country’s Parliament as an assault on Nigeria’s democracy and condemned the act. He commended those who stood firm in defending the premises and the representatives of the people.
The ruling APC is on record demanding that Saraki give back the post of Senate president after leaving the party. The lawmaker’s aides, as well as the PDP, have pushed back on the request, saying he has no reason to bend to their will.
Responding on the issue for the first time, Saraki had this to say ”I was not given this position, I was elected. It does not say you have to come from a particular political party. I was elected by our members, by the Constitution, it is not expected that I should vacate my seat.”
Quizzed whether he plans on running for the presidency as the PDP’s candidate of choice, ”the question of running for President should not be a part of today’s discussion” he replied.
Lawmakers from both parliamentary chambers have condemned the NASS blockade, especially those in the opposition and demand answers as those behind the orders which let to DSS operatives on the National Assembly grounds.
Neba Benson,
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
