Saraki and the Search for a New Senate President
With the battle to succeed the outgoing Senate President, David Mark, on its final lap, Anayo Okolie examines the chances of one of the major contenders, Senator Bukola Saraki
As the tussle for the Senate Presidency enters the final stretch, Nigerians are watching with keen interest to see the role the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, will play in the election of the NationalAssemblyleadership. Though, Buhari’s disposition, according to his close associates, has been to give a free hand to the National Assembly members to elect their leaders without external interferences. Saraki The chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology and Environment, Senator Bukola Saraki from Kwara State is a major force in the battle. He represents Kwara Central in the Senate. He was elected senator in 2011 and re-elected at the last general election. Saraki, a trained medical doctor, was a two-term governor of Kwara State.
Saraki started his political career as special assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000. In 2003, he was elected governor of Kwara State and was re-elected in 2007. During his time as governor, he also held the position of chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. His tenure as NGF chairman was noted for strong collaboration between state governors across Nigeria and developing new platforms for sharing best practice between states.
The ambition of Saraki to become the next President of the Senate has received a tremendousboostinlastfewweeks. Withendorsements from across the country, Saraki is no doubt cruising very high in the race.
The chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in the six states that make up the Northcentral zone recently announced a unanimous endorsement of Saraki’s candidacy. The APC state chairmen said Saraki was their preferred candidate for the office of the senate president. Their decision to endorse Saraki, they said, was borne out of his unprecedented commitment to the growth and success of the party at all levels in the zone and across the country.
The chairmen stated, “We, the party chairmen, who are the field officers can attest, without any contradiction that Saraki’s unparalleled commitment to the party broke the hitherto political jinx in the zone where the PDP was holding sway and delivered the zone to All Progressives Congress (APC), a feat that was unprecedented in the history of the zone and, indeed, Nigerian political history.
“As the party leaders in our various states, we hereby unequivocally say that our people unanimously give their support to Saraki Senate Presidency without iota of doubt in his ability to make the zone and Nigeria proud in no distant future and deliver as he had done in other endeavours he had involved in the past.”
Other contenders for the post include Senator George Akume, a former governor of Benue State, and Senator Ahmed Lawan. But already, Saraki is enjoying the support of more senators. But for North-central to ensure they produce the next Senate President, political analysts believe that the zone must avoid fielding two candidates for the position (Saraki and Akume).
An APC Senator, who wanted anonymity, said the leader of the party initially endorsed AkumetoscuttleSaraki’sambition.“Thecalculation is simple. There are 18 senators from the North-central zone and if Saraki and Akume remain in the contest until the final day, they would eventually share the votes of the zone, which would push Lawan ahead of them,” he said, adding, “Saraki has all the qualities to lead the senate. He was governor for eight years, headed the NGF, has a mind of his own, and may not be easily influenced if elected Senate President and that is the kind of person we want as Senate President.”
To actualise the Saraki’s Senate presidency ambition, some Peoples Democratic Party senators-elect and their counterparts from the APC met with him recently. Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, former Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi State, and 62 senators-elect were said to be among the people that attended the pro-Saraki meeting.
Thependulumseemstobeswinginginfavour of Saraki, but those who do not want him are doing everything possible to stop him. One senator who attended the pro-Saraki meeting said no amount of blackmail would frustrate Saraki’s senate presidency ambition. He said, “The fraud allegation against Saraki was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Saraki was cleared.”
Many believe that the people against Saraki are only trying to exaggerate the matter.
Meanwhile, a letter signed by Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mrs. O.O. Fatunde, disclosed that after a thorough consideration of the investigation report and the relevant laws applicable, the criminal allegations against Saraki were unfounded and manifestly unsupportable in law. This alone, the letter noted, does not constitute an offence under any law because it is within the discretion of the bank to grant or refuse any such loan application.
In exercising the discretion to grant loan, the statement said it is the duty of the bank and not the customer’s to ensure that the conditions of the bank are met.
The letter stated, “The customer should therefore not be made to take responsibility for the wrong exercise by the bank of its discretion unless the customer can be shown to have improperly or fraudulently induced such a decision or outcome, which is not the case here…
“Dr. Saraki and Mr. Pinheiro are alleged to be connected with the grant of the loans as promoter and Director, respectively, of the companies. By virtue of section 18 of the Act, a director or any other officer or partner of a company can only be held responsible in that capacity for the actions of the company if the company is guilty of an offence under the Act.
“Since the companies in this case cannot be held to have committed any offence under section 15(1)(a), it follows that Dr. Saraki and Mr. Pinheiro cannot also be held criminally responsible only on account of having acted as promoter and director of the companies in connection with the said loan.” Akume Among those jostling for the post of senate president is Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume from Benue. Akume served as the governor of Benue State from 1999 to 2007. Lawan Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmed Lawan, is from Yobe State. Lawan represents Yobe North senatorial district. He became a senator in 2007. He enjoys Tinubu’s support. Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State believes that Lawan has all the qualities, which uniquely place him ahead in the 8th Senate. The governor was also pleased with Lawan’s endorsement by senators from the North-west part.