There’s No Rift Between The Presidency And Senate, Says Wakili

Ali Wakili of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Bauchi South in the senate, told journalist in Bauchi that there is no rift between the President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki, insisting a section of the media is over-heating the polity. ALI GARBA was there and reports.

What do you make of the alleged cold war between President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki?
I am getting sick and tired of how some people are trying to destabilise this nation through false propaganda by creating bad blood between the National Assembly and the President of.

As a senator of the 8th National Assembly, as one of those that supported Saraki, I know for sure that neither I nor him nor any of his supporters has on his table the idea of fighting with the Presidency.

The powers of the Presidency, that of the Senate and that of the Judiciary are spell out in Section 4, 5 and 6 of the constitution.

On issues of oversight function, you will discover that the National Assembly has such powers on government activities that will not warrant that there is going to be a clash in the National Assembly and Presidency, especially under Buhari.

We are piqued and tired because our names are being dragged to in the mud. Our constituents are wondering and inundating us with questions as to why are we quarreling with the President.

We are taking toll of our time to explain to them that there is no quarrel between the Senate and the President, who has accepted the senate presidency of Saraki, having transmitted letters of congratulation to him as Senate President and to the National Assembly.

So, the issue that the President did not recognise Saraki is not true. Saraki, as a person that has been brought up properly, knows the powers of the President and recognises Buhari and the constitution of Nigeria and is not in any way ready to have any clash with the President, not to talk of the fact that because one permanent secretary did not honour an invitation by the senate.

It has been very normal from the First Republic to the 7th Assembly; there have been occasions when the National Assembly called on government functionaries to come and for one reason or the other, they don’t have the time to attend. You will recall that former minister of Petroleum, Diezani Madueke, had to go to court over her refusal to answer the call of National Assembly.

If for one reason or the other one permanent secretary did not answer the call of the senate president or the National Assembly leadership that does not amount to a declaration of war between the Presidency and the Senate.

As an ardent supporter of Saraki, neither him nor I nor other members are quarelling with the Presidency. That is the figment of imagination of those that want to destabilise Nigeria by sending false propaganda by heating up the polity.

I am appealing to you to inform Nigerians that no member of the senate, not even the senate president, is ready to quarrel with the Presidency over trivialities.

Let those of those dishing out propaganda have the fear of God. If they have personal scores to settle with Saraki, they should take him up as Saraki, not take it on all of us in the senate.

There is no quarrel between Saraki and Buhari. There is no institutional clash between the Senate and the Presidency.

Some of the things being sent out through some sections of the media for reasons best known to them should be stopped. They are heating up the polity and I want to assure you that as a serving senator, the Presidency has not transmitted any letter that is requiring the action of the senate that we have not sat down to look at.

Before Saraki left for lesser Hajj, I was in his office and we were there to receive governor of the CBN. We had briefing with him, so if the governor of the CBN from the executive arm will attend to the senate calling, I don’t think there will be any other civil servant or technocrat that willfully will not want to attend.

Those are not things that should be brought to the front burner. People should be able to help us do away with the scourge of the insurgency.

How do we deal with this insurgency that has regurgitated itself and innocent lives are being killed in the name of the devil, not religion? These are our problems, not these trivialities.

I am appealing to those heating up the polity to stop henceforth. Some of them are dragging our name to the mud. If there is any quarrel, it is not known to us; we are not involved and we will not partake. We swore by the constitution and we are going abide by the constitution.

What is the implication of all these on the senate and the country?
In terms of what? There is a senate leadership and I don’t know this hullabaloo and I am sure, based on senate standing orders, that by the time we resume from recess, maybe the leadership would have constituted committees.