Northern leaders in fresh move to save Saraki

• Advise APC on political solution to CCT trial 

• Seek Tinubu’s intervention

• Emir Sulu-Gambari succeeding in the fight for Saraki

By SUNDAY ODIBASHI

SOME northern leaders, particularly, of Fulani extractions, have intensified their efforts towards forestalling the prosecution of the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) at the instance of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

The Saraki saga is widely perceived to be the fall out of the power tussle over the leadership of the National Assembly in which leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost to the united force of the federal lawmakers. Invariably, the northern leaders have taken the prosecution of the Senate President as political brinkmanship that should be fought with all available political weapons at their disposal.

The Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, has been in the vanguard of the battle to strengthen Saraki’s political forte in the power war waged against him by certain APC leaders since his emergence as Senate President.

National Daily had earlier reported an intervention network of some northern leaders, who then included the Emir of Ilorin, His Royal Highness, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, the 11th Emir of Ilorin; Sultan of Sokoto, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar, wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, including some northern governors, among others towards the end of 2015.

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Hajia Aisha Buhari had then led the vanguard of reconciliation, essentially, between her husband and the Senate President, leading her to nominate the wife of the Senate President,

Mrs. Toyin Saraki, to represent her at the United Nations towards the end last year.
Emir Sulu-Gambari had embarked on wide consultations with several Emirs in the North, seeking their support to intervene and prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari and APC leaders to end the legal battle with the Senate President.

National Daily gathered that the intervention culminated into President Buhari changing his mind to work with the Senate President, and accordingly, sent the 2016 budget to the National Assembly late December after the time he promised for presentation had elapsed.

Sources had then revealed to National Daily that even while the president changed his mind to work with the Senate president, he insisted he would not interfere with the proceedings at the CCT, maintaining that the senate president will have to clear himself in the suit.

Since the intervention, there have been noticeable improved relations between Buhari and Saraki, both of whom are Fulanis, putting an end to the prevalent media reports that the president was avoiding seeing the Senate president or that he was being denied access to the President.

The cordial relationship that emerged after the intervention subsequently created harmonious executive-legislature relations for the smooth running of the government.

However, the political war continued in the law courts, proceeding to the Supreme Court and returning to the CCT.

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Since the judgement of the Supreme Court which failed to give legal protection to the Senate President and reverted the case to the CCT, the northern leaders rejuvenated the political machinery for reconciliation within the APC.

This culminated in the meeting, penultimate week, at the Presidential Villa involving the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, APC national Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, former APC interim Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, the senate president, the Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume, and several others APC senators.

Akande had disclosed that they convened the meeting to resolve a critical crisis in the party. The crisis was not resolved at that meeting but the party leaders agreed to continue with the reconciliation process.

National Daily gathered that the northern leaders have been dialoguing with APC leaders to adopt political solution in resolving the CCT trial of the senate president.

This was gathered to be affecting the proceedings at the tribunal, including the dramatic delay tactics to give more time for negotiation among APC leaders, and resolving the crisis in the interest of the party and the north.

Moreover, the northern leaders are working out modalities to have a meeting with APC national leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, to prevail on him to soften on the Senate President.

It was revealed that the northern leaders believe that Tinubu has strong influence in the party, in addition to his failed interest in installing the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The intervention is perceived to be yielding results with the emerging controversies in the CCT legal team, including reports that APC leaders are now divided over Saraki.

While there are symptoms that progress is being recorded in the efforts to extricate Saraki from the false asset declaration legal battle, an Online publication, SaharaReporters, launched a salvo on Emir Sulu-Gambari. According to the publication, “increasingly, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, is becoming a tool in the hands of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, SaharaReporters sources in Kwara State say.”

The publication stated that Saraki has adopted several war approaches, noting that “the most prominent of his battle axes are the Emir and State Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed. “A recent victim of the onslaught is Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye, Makaman Ilorin, who was suspended by Governor Ahmed as Chairman of Kwara State Parent-Teachers Association,” the publication remarked; adding that, after the suspension, Oniye was also barred by the Emir from stepping into his palace.

Sahara Reporters alleged that Oniye got into trouble because of his decision to tell Alhaji Sulu-Gambari that more people in Kwara are angry with Saraki and are actually cursing him.

Oniye was said to have told the Emir that those cursing Saraki are mainly the poor, who see the Senate President as one who has taken what belongs to them and continues to do so through Governor Ahmed, who is seen as a stooge.

Alhaji Oniye was said to have made this observation known to the Emir at a meeting purportedly called by Sulu-Gambari to find out why huge financial outlays on prayers by Saraki failed to stop the Supreme Court from halting the CCT from going ahead with the Senate President’s prosecution.

The suspension was, however, said to be reversed when the information leaked to the public, SaharaReporters had said.

The Senate president is being prosecuted at the CCT on accusation of false assets declaration being indicted by the CCB; on a 13-count charge.

Invariably, at the March 11 sitting of the CCT, the case was adjourned to Friday, March 18 when the tribunal will entertain the renewed argument on the jurisdiction of the CCT to handle the case.

Kanu Agabi (SAN), the lead counsel to Saraki, leading five other Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and about 60 other lawyers, had questioned the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the case against the senate president.

Though, this issue had been resolved by the various courts, from the High Court through the Appeal court to the Supreme Court, all insisted the tribunal has jurisdiction over the case.

Agabi had introduced his client’s fresh application, insisting that it must be heard before the matter could continue.

“The lead prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had protested the fresh application which he felt was “a deliberate attempt to stop the trial from going on.”

Jacobs had argued that he had not been served with the motion, contending that by virtue of the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on February 5, which validated the trial, the tribunal now has the power to open the case for prosecution.

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President of the CCT, Justice Danladi Umar, had directed the defence counsel to ensure that he served all motions and processes on the prosecution counsel to avoid further delay of the trial.

Thereafter, the case was adjourned to Friday, March 18, 2016, for moving of the motion and possible hearing of the substantive matter.

There were reports that, Jacobs, the prosecution Counsel, may be changed by the Federal Government.

It was indicated that in his fresh application, the Senate President had declared that the charges were not in the interest of justice, but politically motivated and filed in violation of due process as well as his right to fair hearing.