Saraki, Ekweremadu Accuse FG Of Plot To Implicate Them In NASS Blockade

The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, have accused the Federal Government of planning to implicate them in the recent blockade of the National Assembly by security operatives.

In a statement on Friday by their media aides, Yusuph Olaniyonu and Uche Anichukwu, both leaders also alleged that the government had begun the execution of a plot to implicate their colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They claimed that after receiving the interim report submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Idris Ibrahim, the Presidency constituted a closet panel to review the report and submit a final recommendation.

Although the Presidency has yet to respond to the allegations, Saraki and Ekweremadu alleged that the said panel intended to blame the invasion of the National Assembly on them.

“We have been reliably informed that instead of the Presidency to set up a public inquiry or judicial commission to probe last Tuesday’s early morning invasion of the National Assembly as being demanded by the general public, they have commenced a process of manipulation and fabrication,” they alleged.

“The Presidency has set up a closet panel, which would work to a predetermined conclusion in which they will now claim that the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President worked in collusion with ex-DG of DSS, Lawal Daura to stage the invasion.”

Both leaders claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators had met on Monday and planned to remove them as well as select a new Senate President and Deputy Senate President.

They, however, noted that the purported plot failed because of the swift response to the National Assembly blockade.

Saraki and Ekweremadu consequently called on Nigerians and the international community to take note of the recent happenings in the nation’s political space, especially as the country prepares for its general elections.

They also reiterated their earlier position that the National Assembly blockade must be thoroughly probed through an independent judicial commission of inquiry which would produce a comprehensive report.