Senate President says Buhari’s anti-corruption war is being used to silence dissenting voices

chika ebuzor

July 31, 2018 10:31 PM

The Senate President said this in a statement which he issued to newsmen after he resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki has alleged that President Buhari’s anti-corruption war is being used as a weapon to silence any form of dissent.

The Senate President said this in a statement which he issued to newsmen after he resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

On Tuesday, July 31, 2018, Saraki announced his departure from the ruling party.

According to him, he had to leave the party because the basic rules of administration in the APC were disregarded.

He said “…However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself.

The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as ‘corruption fighting back’.”

Powerful people in Buhari's govt blocked me

Saraki, in his statement, also said that powerful people in President Buhari's governmen blocked all his efforts to make peace.

According to him, “…Opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere.

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“The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted.”

All governance principles were violated

The Senate President also said in his statement that all governance principlesrequired for peaceful running of the ruling party were deliberately violated and undermined.

“All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion,” he added.

Meanwhile, contrary to reports in the media, the APC spokesman, has said that he has not resigned from the ruling party.

The APC spokesman described the reports as false, saying that he will not go through the back door.

Banks Omisore, the Special Assistant on International Relations to the Senate President had announced on Abdullahi's resignation on Twiiter.

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The Kwara state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed also left the All Progressives Congress (APC) following Saraki’s defection.

chika ebuzor