APC: Saraki’s Actions as Senate President Now Border on ‘High Treason’

*Alleges plans to attack its senate caucus members

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Tuesday said the actions of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President now border on high treason.

In a statement issued by the Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabene, APC also said it had uncovered plans by PDP to attack its members in the Senate.

“While Saraki and his cohorts continue to postpone their doomsday regarding the imminent Senate leadership change, the yet-to-be considered 2019 budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is dangerously delayed.

“Clearly, Saraki’s actions as Senate President now border on high treason,” APC said.

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one’s government, and it could mean engaging in a war against one’s country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state.

APC did however not elaborate on the actions of Saraki that constitute “high treason” beyond the fact that it said INEC budget “is dangerously delayed.”

The ruling party has been at loggerheads with the main opposition party, over the retention of the Senate presidency by Saraki after defecting to PDP. The party accused Saraki of allowing the Senate to proceed on recess when the 2019 election budget of INEC had not been considered, and it is insisting that the National Assembly must reconvene.

“Our attention has been drawn to sinister plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to attack some All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators as part of the PDP’s desperate bid to ensure that Dr. Bukola Saraki clings to the position of Senate President.

“By this statement, we call on security agents to protect APC Senators. If any senator is harmed, the PDP and Saraki should be held directly responsible. We call on security agencies to also closely monitor the activities of some PDP leaders including Saraki because the plan to attack APC senators is real and imminent,” APC state.

APC said that it was reliably informed that the plot was hatched in the private residence of a PDP leader in Maitama, Abuja on Sunday night. The meeting was attended by 15 pro-Saraki Senators including the Senate President himself.
The state statement read: “We learnt that the PDP expressed worry over the APC’s Senate majority and considered several options to stop the APC from taking over the Senate leadership among which is attacking some APC Senators to ensure their inability to attend legislative sittings.
“The PDP have recruited thugs for this purpose, we have now learnt.

“During Sunday’s meeting, the PDP Senators planned several types of attack, one of which is to lure some of them (APC Senators) out at night in the guise of inviting senators to a political settlement meeting and thereafter instigate a violent confrontation during the meeting and unleash standby PDP thugs on APC senators” Our source privy to the meeting informed us.

“This revelation has not come to us as a surprise because the Senate President through proxies has made several failed attempts to buy over APC senators with N100million each.

“As a party, we don’t believe in inducing lawmakers to achieve our legitimate goal of removing Saraki as Senate President. We will get the support of some PDP Senators to get the required 2/3 vote and impeach Saraki. We are already talking to some PDP senators who believe and support the direction of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to achieve our legitimate goal.”

“Clearly, Saraki’s actions as Senate President now bother on high treason.”