‘We gave Saraki Senate Presidency because we trust him,’ PDP chieftain says

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Bode George has said that the party handed over the Senate Presidency to Senator Bukola Saraki because of the trust it has for him.

The PDP chieftain made the comment during a recent interview with Punch while speaking on the National Assembly leadership crisis which rocked the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Excerpts below:

When the election for the Senate President took place, the PDP had about 49 senators in the chamber while the APC had about eight. Why didn’t the PDP gun for the position of Senate President?

It is not good to get too greedy. We respect democracy a lot in the PDP. We helped to ensure democracy for 16 years through zoning. The PDP would have lost out if we tried to gun for the senate presidency. Remember that APC still has the larger number of senators.

Thus, we decided to give it to Saraki, who we trust because he is our former member. Also, what we did ensured balance such that Tinubu’s boys would never have the upper hand. What happened was good for our democracy.

The APC wants to discipline Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, for going against the will of the party. Will the PDP woo them or accept them if they defect?

Yes, of course. A political party is like a police station, we never shut our doors. If you go to a police station at midnight, you will find a policeman on duty. Any political party that closes its doors to politicians is a cult, not a political party. We will open our doors to anybody that wants to join as long as they live according to the law and the constitution of the party.

Saraki left the PDP in 2014 but has said he has no intentions of going back despite the current disagreement between him and the leadership of the APC.