How Bukola Saraki Outsmarted Police To Retain Seat, As PDP Takes Over Senate

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By Sadiq Umar – The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken over control of the Senate as the majority party, following aborted plot to the Presidency to change the leadership of the senate.

This followed the defection of 14 senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday to the PDP.

The decampee senators, in their letter to the senate, expressed gratitude to the senate president, Bukola Saraki, over what they termed his “exemplary leadership.”

The development is coming less than 48 hours after Mr. Saraki met with President Muhammadu Buhari  at the presidential villa, Abuja.

By that figure, the numbers of PDP senators has risen from 49 to 63 making it the majority party while the President Buhari-led APC government becomes a minority party in the senate.

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki who presided over the sitting read the letter from the decampee senators.

Mr. Saraki is yet to officially announce his defection from APC, he retain his seat as senate president while on his way to join his loyalists in PDP.

While Akwa Ibom senator, Godswill Akpabio, former minority leader now becomes the senate majority leader, Yobe senator, Ahmed Lawan who feebly protested the mass defection has become a minority leader.

The senators in a joint letter to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, made their intention known.

Among the defectors who are Mr. Saraki’s loyalists are: Dino Melaye (Kogi), Rafiu Ibrahim and Shaaba Lafiagi (both from Kwara State).

The defecting Senators explained that their defection followed due consultation with their constituents and stakeholders in their constituencies.

The letter reads: “After due consultation, with our constituents and stakeholders in our constituency, in proper recognition of section 16 (1G) of the 1999 constitution, and for the fact of our party, the All Progressives Congress, we hereby inform the senate that we the undersigned: Senator Dino Melaye, Barnabas Gemade, Ibrahim Danbaba, Shaaba Lafiaji, Mohammed Shittu, Rafiu Ibrahim, Suleiman Hunkuyi, Isa Misau, Monsurat Sunmonu, Soji Akanbi, Usman Nafada, Musa Kwankwaso, Suleiman Nazif and Lanre Tejuosho.

“We hereby inform that we are changing our political affiliation from APC TO PDP. We thank you for your exemplary leadership.”

Also defecting from APC to ADC is Senator Abdulaziz Nyako.

Sources informed News Investigators of a grand plot by the Presidency to avert the defection.

Part of the plot was to deny Mr. Saraki access to the National Assembly using the decoy of a police investigation.

Curiously, the police had announced on Monday, that the senate president must report to police authorities for interview over allegation of complicity in a crime.

Early morning on Tuesday, the police besieged Mr. Saraki’s Maitama residence in an attempt to prevent him from getting to the National Assembly.

The senate president, it was learnt, managed to escape the devilish plot by sneaking out through the backdoor of his resident even as he positioned his convoys vehicles outside the main entrance pretending to be inside.

Part of the plot was also to explore the possibility of impeaching the senate president and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

The police also laid siege on Mr. Ekweremadu, this morning, keeping him under some form of ‘house arrest’ as at time of the sitting of the senate. The security siege on Mr Ekweremadu’s house was still on at 10:50 a.m.

As at the time of filing this report, no official reason has been given by the police on the siege on the deputy senate president.

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