Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has denied claims that he called for the removal of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, insisting that his demand was for a transparent investigation into allegations raised against Akpabio by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu on Sunday, Saraki dismissed Akpabio’s assertion that the calls for due process were an attempt to oust a Niger Delta person from office, describing it as “cheap politics and trivialising of a serious issue.”
“There was nowhere I suggested the resignation of the Senate President,” Saraki clarified. “Rather, I advised that Akpabio should act in the best interest of the legislative institution by ensuring that no reasonable person is left with any doubt about the fact that the allegations raised by the Senator were investigated and justifiably dispensed with.”
He also criticised Akpabio for allegedly using ethnic and political sentiments to divert attention from the real issue. “This issue is definitely not one in which Akpabio should exploit ethnic sentiments, political division, or regional proclivity. This will neither be in his own interest nor that of the institution over which he is presiding. He should face the reality on ground and do what is right,” he said.
The former Senate President reiterated that his call for due process was aimed at protecting the integrity of the Senate, particularly in light of the allegations involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and abuse of office.
“When a sensitive matter suggesting sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and mistreatment of women comes up anywhere, it evokes the pains that thousands of women across the nooks and crannies of our society experience daily,” he stated.
“Thus, when it is raised in a place like the legislative institution, it is an opportunity for us to handle it with utmost openness and transparency to ensure that justice is not only done but glaringly seen to be done,” he added.
Saraki reiterated that an open and transparent investigation would strengthen public confidence in the National Assembly, saying, “By having such an investigation, the general public and the international community will have more confidence in our legislative institution.”
The former Kwara State governor reaffirmed his commitment to upholding the credibility of the Senate saying people like him have made huge sacrifices in defending the integrity of the legislative institution and will not desist in speaking up for the right thing to be done.
