Okorocha plots Ekweremadu’s fall

By CYPRIAN AJAH, Enugu

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued to remain highly uncomfortable with the election of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy President of the Senate, after Dr. Bukola Saraki out-smarted the APC to emerge President of the Senate at the inauguration of the Eight National Assembly on June 9, 2015. The ruling party has, in its various political maneuvers since June 2015, shown signs of desperate ambitions to remove both Saraki and Ekweremadu from office.

A party source revealed that Ekweremadu is gradually becoming a vulnerable lawmaker targeted for alter destruction through being removed as Deputy Senate and possibly a member of the National Assembly.

APC leaders have shown that the emergence of Senate President Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu constitute a major problem of the party government.

Anayo Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo State, recently demonstrated the desperate ambition for an APC senator from the South East as a way to integrate the zone into his party’s dominance of the polity. Okorocha, a fortnight ago, threatened that Ekweremadu’s seat in the Senate will soon be vacant. Okorocha did not hide his joy when the Okigwe senatorial district re-run election was declared inconclusive; he showed unrestrained ambition for the APC candidate, Benjamine Uwajumogu, to win the election.

The Imo State Governor said that Ekweremadu should be warming up to lose his seat as the Deputy Senate President, boasting that the APC, Benjamine Uwajumogu, who contested in the re-run senatorial election in Imo State, would replace Ekweremadu as soon as he joins the Senate. He said it would be an aberration for Ekweremadu, of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to still continue to retain his seat as the Deputy Senate President, after Uwajumogu had joined the Senate. The APC’s early celebration was a confirmation of an anxious move by the party to force Ekweremadu out of office by declaring the APC candidate, Uwajumogu the winner of the election whether he wins or not.

A senator from the southeast, however, told National Daily that Okorocha’s statement was a boast and mere threat that cannot be taken seriously. The senator though admitted that the APC is desperate to achieve its aim. “Okorocha’s boast was evidence that the party would stop at nothing to unseat Ekweremadu, should Uwajumogu be declared winner of the election. But we shall resist it,” he stated. Some political observers are of the opinion that the senate number two man is being witch-hunted for political reasons known to the ruling party. The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by its chairman, Senator Walid Jibril, had, a fortnight ago, paid a courtesy visit to the office of the Deputy President of the Senate to register their solidarity over his travails The BoT chairman frowned at the weight by which the APC government composed to fight Ekweremadu. Jibril believed that deputy senate president was framed up into what he did not know. He condemned the act asking the federal government to leave Ekweremadu alone noting that as the fathers and conscience of the party, the BOT could not sit and watch the framing-up of the Deputy President of the Senate on trumped-up charges of forgery, apparently for political reasons.

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Senator Jibril, speaking during the courtesy call on Ekweremadu, said: “We are here to show solidarity and recognize the leadership of Senator Ekweremadu, especially when we hear stories of what is happening to him. We are here to give our total support to him over the recent framing of him in an alleged forgery case, because we cannot, as fathers and conscience of the party, sit down and just watch.” “Senator Ekweremadu is a man of integrity with a high record of performance. We want to advise strongly that nobody should try to tarnish his personality and we are strongly calling for fair hearing and justice in the attempt to rope-in Senator Ekweremadu for political reasons. “He was elected Deputy President of Senate by 48 PDP senators with the support of APC Senators, which is a good ingredient of our democracy. No attempt should be made to rope him in. He should be left alone to continue the good service to the country.”

Another member of PDP BoT and former President of the Senate, Adolphus Wabara, noted that the era of executive interference in legislative business, was over given the spirit of support among Senators. He said unlike before, the other 14 South East Senators were not interested in the seat of the Deputy President of Senate, but were rather behind Ekweremadu, just as the overwhelming number of Senators were solidly behind Saraki and Ekweremadu leadership, adding that the unity of purpose was one big lesson the executive should learn. “I speak as a victim of executive interference in the legislature. During our own time, there was not the kind of unity being exhibited by the Senators today. I want to commend and salute you all for that. The last time the two Presiding Officers went to court, as I watched on television, I was moved to tears. The court was on vacation, and no one had the courtesy of informing them before hand.

“The time they would have used to attend to the nation’s task, was wasted, going to court. It is high time the executive realizes that the era of executive interference was over,” Wabara, added. He stated that what the senators should do is to remain united as an indivisible entity and pursue their primary functions for the interest of the nation by examining bills properly to ensure that they meet the desired objectives and restructure the ministries, departments and parastatals by monitoring the spending of public funds now the economy is on recess.

The ruling APC had fought through some of its senators and ministers to dislodge Saraki by accusing him for none declaration of assets while he was the governor of Kwara State. While the senators did not achieve their aims at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, they went approached the Minister of Justice, Malam Malami to instigate another case against Saraki and his deputy at the Federal Capital Territory High Court alleging that senate standing rule was forged to pave way for the successful election of Saraki and others. While the trial is ongoing, the power tussle has continued to generate uproar, especially, between senators. The battle line was drawn between the supporters of Saraki/Ekweremadu and thir opponent sponsored by APC leaders from the southwest. Senator Dino Meleye and Senator Oluremi Tinubu represent the two different camps.

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The two senators took the center stage, a fortnight ago, raining abuses on each other, an act considered unethical for matured lawmakers.

Meleye has been open in the matter when he accused the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Malam Abubakar Malami for interfering in the internal affairs of the senate. The fearless senator argued that the manner some of his colleagues aligned with the minister to prosecute the matter in court shows how desperate the government is to remove the leadership of the senate. He called on the senators to withdraw the matter from the court while the senate would settle their internal problem. He also advised the minister to honour the invitation of the legislative arm of the government anytime invitation was extended to him. But Olouremi Tinubu did not see it in that direction, she appears to be on the side of the federal government.

The direction the APC government has taken in prosecuting the matter confirms the desperate move by the ruling party to remove the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu at all cost who many believed was the major target.