Are these Saraki's last days as senate president? Pulse takes a look at exactly what's been going on behind the scenes.
When the national assembly eventually reconvenes for plenary, Senate President Bukola Saraki should be forgiven for looking over his shoulders. The APC is desperate to unseat Saraki as president of the senate.
The plan to impeach Saraki as senate president is now at an advanced stage and the APC isn’t even hiding it anymore.
In press statement after press statement, the APC has made it clear that all it wants for now is Saraki’s impeachment.
Here is a breakdown of what’s been going on in the plot to have Saraki impeached:
1. The APC has held caucus meetings where signatures were collected to impeach Saraki.
2. The senator in charge of collecting signatures for Saraki’s impeachment, Ovie Omo-Agege told Punch soon after that: “Our position is very clear. The moment Saraki defected from the APC to the minority party, he no longer has the moral, political and legal rights to remain as the senate president.
“We have requested of him to step down. We have requested him to do the honourable thing, to do the needful by stepping down. It is a request we are going to continue to make and any opportunity we have, we are going to insist that he must step down”.
3. APC Chairman Adams Oshiomhole has insisted that Saraki has to be impeached for the nation to know peace (Ok, we exaggerated a bit there, but whatever).
4. Omo-Agege says the APC caucus in the upper legislative chamber now has the requisite number to carry out Saraki’s impeachment.
“We have the numbers to remove Saraki, which I can tell you. We have the requisite number to remove Saraki as Senate President.
“Saraki knows that he has lost the confidence of the majority of members in the senate and you will be surprised by what will happen when the opportunity arises. He cannot survive this, trust me. You can take this to the bank. He cannot survive this. He must step down”.
5. So, whenever the senate reconvenes, impeaching Saraki will be topmost on the minds of all APC senators.
6. Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara have indefinitely postponed reconvening of the national assembly, earlier scheduled for this week, on grounds that there is no electoral report from a joint senate and House of Reps committee, to deliberate upon.
“Until the committees have a ready report for the consideration of the two chambers, it will be most irresponsible to recall members from recess especially those that may have travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj”, Saraki and Dogara said in a joint press statement.
7. It is believed that the postponement of the resumption of the national assembly, has everything to do with putting a spanner in the works of the APC caucus who are daily holding meetings; with impeaching Saraki as the sole agenda.
8. Saraki has met with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida in the last couple of weeks, ostensibly to discuss the crisis in the national assembly.
9. The APC says "it is already talking to some PDP senators to achieve the legitimate goal" of impeaching Saraki. The senate requires two thirds majority to impeach its leader. The APC can't boast of that number at the moment, meaning it has to poach some PDP senators to achieve Saraki's impeachment.
10. APC senators held a Saraki impeachment meeting until 1am on Monday, August 13, in the home of party Chairman Oshiomhole.