A former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Haruna Yerima, has warned the All Progressives Congress that it will spell doom for the party if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is allowed to take control of the leadership of the Senate.
The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, is presently standing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for false and anticipatory assets declaration.
With a narrow majority in the Senate, in the event Saraki bows to pressure to resign or he is found guilty at the CCT, the APC could have a hard time retaining the seat as some of the embattled Senate president’s die-hard supporters may choose to vote for a PDP senator to replace him as payback to the governing party.
This fear was expressed by Yerima, who urged the leadership of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari to take measures to prevent the PDP from taking over leadership of the Senate.
“The ruling party and the presidency must ensure that the ranks and files of APC senators remain intact”, he said.
The university lecturer, who is a chieftain of the APC, said with the ongoing criminal trial of Mr. Saraki, “something strategic must be done to avert the National Assembly’s ridiculing of the president”.
“You can imagine what will happen if the PDP takes over the Senate. What happened during the election of Saraki in June, last year, is an eye opener. There will be problems for Buhari’s government if the PDP takes over the Senate.
“If Saraki finally resigns or is found guilty, who takes over? We can only dismiss the possibilities of PDP’s taking over at our own peril. The PDP requires only three senators to form the majority. It is easier for them because the Saraki diehards in the APC will support them.
“Where the pendulum of some former governors in the Senate will swing to is clear, going by their antecedents. This should worry any believer in Buhari’s change agenda. The progressive policies of the president, which require the lawmakers’ nod will be jeopardized”, Yerima explained.
The former Reps member also alleged that the policy direction of the current National Assembly was antithetical to Buhari’s change agenda.
“The unpopular buying of luxury cars for lawmakers, the controversial amendments of the Code of Conduct Bureau laws, the budget debacle are pointers to the fact that it will get worse if eventually the PDP takes over the Senate”.
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