Alleged Forgery: Withdrawal of suit victory for Democracy - Saraki, Ekweremadu

President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ek­weremadu yesterday described the verdict of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory dis­missing the charges of forgery of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 and their subsequent dis­charge as a welcome develop­ment and a vindication of their position from the beginning of the case, that they were inno­cent of the accusations leveled against them.
In seperate statements signed by the duo’s media aides, Yusuph Olaniyonu and Uche Anichukwu respectively, the presiding officers of the upper chamber of the National As­sembly said the court decision was consistent with their po­sition that the case lacked any merit and that the charge of forgery of the Senate rule filed against them can never be sub­stantiated by any fact.

The two men described the case as a “politically-induced distraction” which came at a time when all hands must be on deck to solve the problem of economic recession biting the people, destroying homes and creating severe social disorien­tation in communities.

They however acknowl­edged that the Federal Gov­ernment finally displayed cour­age and strength of character in halting the unnecessary waste of precious time of both par­ties by agreeing with the de­fence team that the case lacks merit and therefore should be discontinued.

“We express appreciation to all our colleagues in the Senate for their solid support and un­derstanding while the case last­ed. We also thank other parlia­mentarians in and out of the country and the internation­al community as a whole for the consistent solidarity they displayed to us and their belief in our genuine cause since the commencement of the case.

“Our gratitude goes to our legal team, family members, friends, supporters, civil soci­ety organisations, members of the bar, the media and the gen­erality of the people, many of who came out to add their voice to the fact that what the nation needs at this period of econom­ic crisis is not a distraction or any show of division but a clear signal that all arms of govern­ment are ready to co-operate with one another to find solu­tions to the nation’s economic recession.

“We believe much time has been wasted in pursuing this needless case and we hope that the same treatment will be ex­tended to other politically-mo­tivated cases. It is also hoped that from now on, the various arms of government will be al­lowed to devote all the available time and resources to working on the problems confronting the country and finding solu­tions that will lead to higher standards of living for the ma­jority of the people of Nigeria.

“At this point, what the country needs is a strong econ­omy where a very large percent­age of those who are willing to work can be productively en­gaged; where there is solid in­frastructure, where the atmos­phere brings the best out of the people and where all are able to realize their full potential. We pledge to work for Nigeria to achieve all these”, Saraki and Ekweremadu stated.

In a related development, former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Pro­gressives Congress (APC), Ati­ku Abubakar has commended the Federal Government, par­ticularly President Muham­madu Buhari, for the with­drawal of criminal charges against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, thus paving the way for the resolution of the impasse between both arms of government.

The former Vice President describes it as “a wise and time­ly move”.

In a press statement re­leased by his Media Office in Abuja on Friday, 7th October, 2016, the former Vice President says that the move by the Fed­eral Government is an indica­tion that the government values the much-needed cordial rela­tionship between the Executive and Legislature and would take steps to ensure that it remains harmonious in the interest of the nation, and the advance­ment of our democracy.

The Turakin Adamawa says that it is only in the situation of harmonious, cordial and cor­porative relationship between the three arms of government that real progress and develop­ment can take place in the pol­ity.

Arguing that all hands needs to be mobilized to tackle the current economic difficul­ties in the country, and get the nation out of economic reces­sion, the former Vice President states that both the Executive and Legislature need to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that pro­mote strife and mistrust.