8th February, 2016
The Senate on Monday said calls by some Nigerians on its President, Senator Bukola Saraki, to immediately resign over his impending trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal is premature.
Saraki lost his bid to halt his trial on charges of false assets declaration when Nigeria’s Supreme Court declared last Friday that the CCT has the jurisdiction to try him.
The trial of the Senate President which was halted following the case he filed at the apex court will commence soon.
There have been calls that Saraki should resign pending the conclusion of his trial so as not to drag the upper chamber in the mud.
But in a statement on Monday, the Senate said such call is premature, mischievous and unwarranted especially since the Senate President had not been convicted by the CCT.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said this in a statement titled: “CCT vs Saraki: Our stand remains the same.”
The Senate spokesperson who said in the statement that the fundamental principle of Nigeria’s legal system is that a defendant is deemed innocent until proven guilty, said the lawmakers have decided to patiently observe proceedings of Saraki’s trial until the case runs its full course in the nation’s final judicial forum.
Abdulahi who claimed that the decision to continue to support Saraki was taken by the Senators at a meeting on Sunday reiterated that the case against the Senate President was politically motivated.
“Following a meeting held in Abuja yesterday (Sunday) by some Senators and the wide consultations with our colleagues in which we reviewed last Friday’s decision of the Supreme Court in the appeal on the preliminary matters filed by the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on the charges filed against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), we hereby resolve as follows:
“That from the beginning of the trial last September, we have declared that this case is not about any fight against corruption. It is simply a case of political vendetta.
“Our position remains the same. We still believe that the case is politically motivated.
“We also noted that the decision of the Supreme Court given last Friday was on preliminary matters arising from the commencement of the trial.
“The trial proper is yet to begin. And since the fundamental principle in our legal system is that a defendant is deemed innocent until proven guilty, we have decided to patiently observe the proceedings until the case runs its full circle in the nation’s final judicial forum.
“It is on this ground that we want to state categorically that there is no basis for the call on the Senate President to resign until after the matter is decided in that final judicial forum. Such a call at this time is premature, mischievous and unwarranted,” the Senate spokesperson said.
But among those calling for the resignation of Saraki is the Senate Unity Forum, SUF.
Senator Kabiru Marafa, the spokesperson of SUF told journalists that the honourable thing for the Senate President to do in view of his trial on corruption is to resign from the position of number three man in the country.