Why I stopped fighting Saraki – Marafa
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara) has said that a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) made him to stop fighting the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and not the ‘juicy committee’ given to him.
Marafa, who was Saraki’s lone critic at the upper chamber, until he was made the chairman of the petroleum committee, said he had nothing personal against the senate president at the height of their crisis.
Reacting to a statement by the Coalition of Northern Youth Organisations (CNYO), tagged ‘The Enemy Within: Unveiling the True Character of Senator Kabiru Marafa’, he said nobody could use him to undermine President Buhari’s administration.
“I did not fight Bukola Saraki because he is Saraki; I fought because my party said I should fight, and when my party said I should stop, I stopped. The decision to end all these hostilities that brought the two sides (Unity Forum and like minds) together was taken by APC and President Buhari himself.
“It was not me or anybody; the party said ‘my children, come together, this one has won the senate presidency, you, this side, give them the senate leader and deputy senate leader, and it was done.’
“Was that not what happened? Now, you have formed committees, give them some committees; is that not what happened? I don’t know why Nigerians forget things easily. It was the party and President Buhari that called for ceasefire,” he said.
Dispelling a report that he wanted to make Saraki the acting president when Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia) on July 4, this year, said there was nowhere in the constitution that said acting president could be nominated by the National Assembly.
“What happened that day was that Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe was given a chance to contribute to a debate on whether the senate should accept the letter from the acting president seeking the senate to confirm a nominee as the Director General of the National Lottery Commission; that was the topic of discussion and Senator Abaribe, from Abia, was given a chance to contribute. In his contribution, he accused our government; I am APC blood and soul, that the problem is there is vacuum of leadership in Nigeria, that there is no leadership. That statement was an insult on our government, and I rose to defend my government and I shouted point of order,” he said.