Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, has called for the dismissal of the Senate President Bukola Saraki from the party for antiparty activities.
Nabena, in a statement, titled “Time to expel Saraki from APC,” which followed the defection of about 15 senators and some House of Representatives members from the APC, accused Saraki of being in cahoots with the defectors.
It said: “Being the ringleader, therefore, there is no justification for APC’s continued toleration of Saraki. He must go now or be shown the way out.”
The statement, which said the APC leadership was not surprised by the defections, which it called the culmination of the “deserters’” antiparty activities, said what shocked observers was Saraki’s utterances and body language, which revealed unconcealed cooperation with the defectors.
The full statement: “Clearly, Saraki had a big hand in organising the events that transpired in the National Assembly. He has, therefore, lost the moral justification to remain in APC. The time to expel him from the party is now. The public outing by the deserters at the National Assembly was the culmination of months of antiparty activities organised and directed by Saraki. And every scene in that dramatic work of shame revealed his hand.
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“When the senators submitted the letter declaring their intention to leave APC, which was excitedly read by Saraki, the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, attempted to point out what should have been the right procedure if APC had a true party man at the helm. Lawan tried to emphasise the need to allow some time for dialogue, knowing that politics is always a game of negotiation, dialogue and agreement. Rather than listen to the senate leader and stand down the defections, at least, temporarily, to see how the situation could be salvaged, Saraki simply gave in to his own consuming interest in the whole affair and enthusiastically shut down the valid intervention by Lawan.”