Senators loyal to
Senate President Bukola Saraki are using the 2016 Budget row to negotiate a
soft-landing for the former Kwara State Governor, who is facing trial for false
declarations of assets at the Code for Conduct Tribunal (CCB).
Investigations
by Ripples revealed that his loyalists under the aegis of Like Mind Senators
met last night at his official residence to take serious positions on the
controversy.
President
Muhammadu Buhari had refused assent to the Budget after Ministers identified
the document had been returned “highly mutilated”.
The
President, who is on a week-long trip to China, it was learnt, was told by the
Economic Team headed by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo not to sign the Budget
presented by the National Assembly last Thursday.
The
Senators had removed the Lagos-Calabar rail project and tampered with major
infrastructural thrusts of the administration.
Sources
at the meeting last night informed that the Senators reasoned Saraki must be
stopped from facing trial using the instrumentality of the Budget impasses.
“Truth
is they realised the Senate President will surely be prosecuted and jailed. His
legal team has run short of any more tricks to play.
“So,
they have told him that only a political solution will be the way out. While
the legal battles will continue, Saraki has been reliably informed he must
resort to political weapons to stave off prosecution,”a source at the meeting
confided.
Saraki,
it was gathered, has identified the Budget impasse as his last chance to
negotiate a soft landing, a position many of his loyalists share.
This
is why, sources informed, the Senators have resorted to dragging the Minister
of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, into the row to whip up sentiments and win
support.
“You
know Amaechi has many natural enemies. His kinsmen are angry he facilitated the
victory of Buhari at the expense of Jonathan.
“The
Pro-Saraki elements are using this sentiment to the maximum to ensure that it
is seen as another ploy by Amaechi to play dirty politics,” the source added.
The
meeting convened by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) resolved that the row must
be a total stand-off until the Executive is pushed to the wall.
Once
the patience of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is exhausted, Saraki
supporters have been primed to step in and convince them the impasse will only
be resolved if he is not disgraced.
“It
is a very strategic ploy. You know for the first time many Nigerians are
desperate for the Budget to be passed. Everything is at a standstill
economically.
“The
longer this (row) takes, the more Buhari will lose face and goodwill. It will
keep setting Nigerians against him. This is something he has always feared.
“We
are very aware and ready to latch in on this. Saraki must not be prosecuted. He
is a victim of political manipulations. This government cannot disgrace him
because he is the face of the National Assembly,” one of his loyalists
confirmed to Ripples.
He
added: “All we want is an assurance the SP will be saved. The President has to
guarantee this. Until then, the Budget can as well wait because we will not
allow political detractors to have a field day.”
This
subtle blackmail is expected to give Buhari a run for his money, a development
many strategists in Saraki’s camp are confident will work to full effect.
As
the Senators stepped out of Saraki’s official residence last night, they beamed
with smiles fully convinced they have plotted a major onslaught against the
Presidency.
Should
Buhari remain stubborn, the row will remain a long-drawn one with many
subjected to many more weeks of desperate waiting.
Source: RipplesNigeria
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