The Senate
President Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that he has always restrained from
joining issues in the media with the national leader of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite his wrong impression of him.
The Senate
President said his decision was based on his respect for the former Lagos State
Governor.
The Senate
President said this while reacting to the statement by Tinubu about his exit
from the ruling party, saying the former Lagos State governor was completely
wrong.
Saraki said
he will not allow Tinubu to create a wrong, false and mischievous impression on
his decision to exit the APC and present his prejudice as facts for public
consumption.
In a
statement signed and made available to DAILY POST by the Senate President, he
said that he had always complained about the lack of internal democracy in the
ruling party, adding that the President Muhammadu administration always treats
the legislature with contempt.
Saraki
added, “I have been consistent in my complaints to all leaders of the APC,
including Tinubu, that a situation where the National Assembly is not
constructively engaged or carried along in key policy decisions, particularly
those that will eventually require legislative approval, is not in the best interest
of the nation.
“No genuine
leader of the legislature will be comfortable that the Presidency will simply
write a terse letter to the National Assembly on key issues which the federal
legislature is expected to later deliberate upon and give its approval.
“The Buhari
administration consistently treats the legislature with contempt and acts as if
the lawmaking body should be an appendage of the Executive. To me, this is
unacceptable.
“In the same
way, I find it very objectionable that many stakeholders who worked strenuously
to get the administration into office have now been excluded in the government
and not consulted on key decisions as necessary and expected.
” In fact,
some of them are treated as pariahs. A party that ignores justice, equity and inclusion
as basic pre-conditions for peace, unity and stability cannot sustain its
membership and leadership.
“Let me
redirect the attention of the former Governor of Lagos State to the aspect of
my July 31, 2018, statement announcing my exit from APC in which I emphasized
that the decision ‘has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and
forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace,
cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist’
“However,
during those meetings, the point of disagreement between Tinubu and I is that
while I expressed my worries that there is nothing on ground to assure me that
the administrative style and attitude would change in the next four years in a
manner that will enable us to deliver the positive changes we promised to our
people, he (Tinubu) expressed a strong opinion that he would rather ‘support a
Buhari on the hospital stretcher’ to get a second term because in 2023, power
will shift to the South-west. This viewpoint of Tinubu’s was not only expressed
to me but to several of my colleagues. So much for acting in national interest.
“It is clear
that while my own decision is based on protecting the collective national
interest, Tinubu will rather live with the identified inadequacies of the
government for the sake of fulfilling and preserving his presidential ambition
in 2023. This new position of Tinubu has only demonstrated inconsistency —
particularly when one reviews his antecedents over the years.”
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