Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who is representing Kano Central in the Senate, on Monday lined behind those critical of the emergence of Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.
Kwankwanso is particularity angry that the All Progressives Congress’ tardiness in handling elections into National Assembly positions created the lacuna which the Peoples Democratic Party exploited to foist one of their own Ike Ekweremadu into the position of Deputy Senate President.
The Kano Senator, who was the state’s immediate past governor, said that Saraki is using his ambition to destroy the party they laboured to build and betray the confidence which Nigerians reposed in them by voting them for change.
Kwankwanso spoke with journalists in Abuja.
He said said the Senate President had used his ambition to destroy party discipline and should be punished for it.
According to him, the position of Deputy Senate President, currently being held by Ike Ekweremadu, does not belong to Peoples Democratic Party and must be returned to All Progressives Congress.
He explained that for the 16 years that PDP ruled the country, at no time did the opposition get the benefit of having such a position.
According to the APC chieftain, Saraki’s ambition has given the defeated PDP an opportunity to reap where they did not sow because they were rejected in the polls by Nigerians.
The former Defence Minister believes that despite his being a fresh senator that his is qualified to contest the Senate Presidency.
He said that the fact that he was the only governor that gave President Buhari 1.9 million votes, which is 100 per cent in Kano state and the only Senator that gave the party 750,000 from his senatorial district qualified himto contest for the coveted post.
He however noted that since the President came from his zone, they agreed to give the seat to another zone which was middle belt, but Saraki’s ambition disrupted the process.
Senator Kwankwaso said when Saraki stated his ambition, he advised him not to go too far with it because as far as they were concerned, PDP was dead, and now he has given them hope.
He noted that “from the day President Buhari’s victory was announced, things have started changing in the country. The power situation is improving, shares in the market are going up, while the exchange rate is stabilising.”
He blamed the party for not putting things right immediately after the official announcement of the results, but the leadership delayed and this was what Saraki capitalised on to do what he did.
The senator cleared the air on whether President Buhari actually summoned the meeting of all elected National Assembly members on the platform of APC on the day of the election of Senate President.
He said that it was on the morning of that day that he received a text message, that President Buhari will address them at the International Conference Centre by 10 am.
He added that the message did not emanate from the President, but that the person did not indicate his name.
On the way forward, he said if he were the party chairman, he would personally write to each APC Senators and House of Representative member to express his displeasure over the unfortunate incident.
He added that PDP have their own agenda to tackle APC and, at the end of the day, irritate the President and put hurdles before him.
