Who won the bloody fight between political party and Sagay?

Like, seriously.

Nothing beats that popcorn moment especially because times are so hard and life is so short.

Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay, knows a thing or two about landing devastating punches. Ask the national assembly.

These past couple of days, the man has been in red hot form.

Sagay had engaged the national assembly in a war of words over the

He was summoned by lawmakers but failed to show up and threw more insults the way of lawmakers for effect.

So, the APC felt that since Sagay and a chunk of the lawmakers are pushing a similar agenda, it was only proper to wade in.

Please tell us who won this fight between the governing APC and Prof Sagay.

And you've got to be as objective as possible, please.

APC:

“In furtherance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) efforts to resolve the rift between the executive and the national assembly, the APC urges all government appointees to stop making statements that may further worsen the relationship between the two arms of government and derail the party’s effort to make peace.

“Specifically, the party urges Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) to exercise restraint and desist from making utterances that may be misconstrued as an attack on the institution of the national assembly.

“The party acknowledges the fatherly role being played by the President, H.E Muhammadu Buhari to resolve outstanding issues with the national assembly, by setting up a high-level committee led by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

“We believe the comments attributed to Prof. Sagay are uncalled for, regrettable and could further complicate the relationship between these vital arms of government.

“Our expectation would be that as a Law Professor of repute, Prof. Sagay would appreciate the need to not denigrate the institutions of democracy, be it the executive, legislature or judiciary.

“Moreover, as an appointee of Mr. President, we should expect the learned professor to key into his principal’s temper and help him to make friends that would make his job easier and not make enemies of people who, by virtue of the position they occupy under our law, are critical to the running of government and the nurturing of our democracy.

"The party specifically objects to the professor’s call on the senate to withdraw invitation extended to him. As someone appointed by our government, we find this kind of posturing unacceptable and potentially injurious to the peace efforts by the party.

“The party wishes to reiterate its earlier position admonishing all elected or appointed officials of our government to desist from utterances that may endanger efforts to build harmonious relationship between the two arms of government. Prof. Sagay should not operate outside this admonition.

“The party expresses happiness with the meeting it had with the senate caucus on Tuesday and is confident that all the issues raised will be addressed. It also urges the national assembly to further intensify its efforts to ensure timely passage of the 2017 national budget.”

Sagay:

“Yes, Buhari is my employer. If he tells me to stop talking, I’ll stop talking. But I have certain rights too that I can exercise in addition to that, because I’m not going to be in a position where I am impotent.

“So, I must obey him, but I can go beyond that and obey myself too. That’s it.

“As for the leadership of the APC, I think they are the most unprincipled group of people. They are lily-livered, weak, and cannot run any organisation.

“The whole party is collapsing under them. They cannot control anybody. Because they cannot control anybody, they’re now in fact encouraging and accepting ‘rogues’. When I say rogues, I don’t mean stealing. In literature, when you say someone is a rogue elephant, it means people who are running riot and destroying the party.

“They’re pampering them, saying: ‘Let’s not annoy them too much’, but they’re destroying the APC house. So, I think the APC leadership is weak, is too compromising and is certainly a failure as far as I’m concerned.

“If you look at the allowances of lawmakers, Nigerians need to ask themselves questions. Should we be the ones clothing senators? Should my tax be used in hanging Agbada on a senator? The press has not taken it up, but this is serious.

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“How many times have government provided clothes for you, and yet you’re clothed? But these men who are overpaid, who are absorbing the largest share of our resources are still asking us to clothe them, as if they arrived in Abuja naked. It’s not acceptable.

“What about the man who is earning N18,000 a month, who’s carrying machinery, working in a factory, cutting grass on the road, cleaning the roads, sweating with hard labour. Nobody is paying them hardship allowance.

“They’re claiming utility allowance. In other words, if we don’t give them money, they don’t have cutlery, tablecloth, plates and saucepans. We have to provide those for them. The list goes on.

“It is criminal. It is unconscionable. It is wicked for people who are so highly privileged, who are the wealthiest people in the country to still be sucking our blood dry by collecting these things which they don’t need and depriving others of them".

APC:

"Our attention has been brought to an interview granted by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay (SAN).

"In the said interview, Sagay described the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as “the most unprincipled group of people” who are “encouraging and accepting rogues” in the party. He said: “When I say ‘rogues’, I don’t mean stealing. In literature, when you say someone is a rogue elephant, it means people who are running riot and destroying the party.”

"The Webster dictionary defines ‘rogue elephant’ as “one whose behaviour resembles that of a rogue elephant in being aberrant or independent.” Clearly if we have today, anyone in our government or, by extension, the party who feels accountable only to his own ego; who does not feel the need to bridle his tongue for the sake of anything that is higher than himself; who feels independent of everyone and every institution; that person is Professor Sagay.

"Asked by the interviewer if he would stop speaking if the President asks him to stop speaking, he said: “Yes, he is my employer. If he tells me to stop talking, I’ll stop talking. But I have certain rights too that I can exercise in addition to that, because I’m not going to be in a position where I am impotent. So, I must obey him, but I can go beyond that and obey myself too. That’s it.” Framed in another way, what Sagay is saying here is that, no matter what is at stake, he would rather resign than obey the President if the President tries to restrain him. This is the quintessential rogue elephant behaviour.

"In his sheer arrogance, he forgets that it is impossible for him to call out the leadership of the party as “weak” and “unprincipled” without indicting the President, who is the leader of the party and has the fundamental responsibility to build the party.

"If Sagay had any iota of respect for the man who dug him back from inevitable oblivion and puts him in a position in which he now feels superior to everyone, he would channel his opinions and advice to the President on how to make the party stronger and more principled. It appears however that Sagay does not have anything constructive to say about anything. He only knows how to tear down and assault everyone and everything.

"We want to remind Sagay and all other appointees of our government that the only reason they occupy their current position today is because the APC won the election. There is, therefore, a matter of honour to show decorum and respect for the party and its leadership. You cannot love the fruit and hate the tree that produced it".

Sagay:

“To start with, I am not a ‘come and chop’ person as they are. I did not come to ‘chop’; so they are not doing me a favour. They are the ones that come to ‘chop’.

“Secondly, my criticism of APC is not against President Buhari who I think is a man of great honour, integrity and whom I admire and who inspires me.

"I took this job because of Buhari and Osinbajo, who I admire greatly. The people I am referring to in my criticism are and one who is (Senate President Bukola) Saraki’s Man Friday. They are dining with the devil who wants to destroy the party.

“They are appeasers, who are acting the way (former) British Prime Minister, appeased and in the process, they will destroy the party because they are weak and unable to confront evil and they will end up helping that Hitler to destroy the party.

“What is APC without Buhari, Osinbajo and Tinubu? The Oyegun-led executive, which is doing a policy of appeasement, will destroy the party.”

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Your move, guys.

Who won this duel?