Amidst tension in the National Assembly over planned impeachment of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu yesterday by pro-Buhari Senators in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim representing Kwara South, has disclosed that the lawmakers known as Parliamentary Support Group received the sum of $1million each to carry out the impeachment.
Rafiu, one of the recent returnees to People’s Democratic Party (PDP), made the disclosure in an interview with The Tide at the National Assembly.
Rafiu, expressing disgust over the invasion of the National Assembly by officers and men of the Department of State Services, accused the Federal Government under APC of perfecting illegality totally in contradiction to the change they preached in 2014.
His words “I can authoritatively tell you that those senators behind the desecration of the National Assembly collected $1million each to impeach the Senate President and his Deputy. You can quote me anywhere on this”.
In a related development, another prominent member of the pro-Saraki group, Senator Dino Melaye representing Kofi West, accused the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, of collecting signatures of lawmakers with the aim of effecting a leadership change in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
Melaye, while bringing his colleagues up to speed on the plot by members of the PSG, said the APC national chairman was in a meeting with pro-Buhari senators to collect signatures for Saraki and Ekweremadu’s impeachment.
“The chairman of APC is currently meeting with some APC senators. As I speak, we understand he is collecting signature for the senate president’s impeachment.
“We also understand that after collecting the signatures they will be proceeding to the National Assembly to carry out their plan. We are waiting for them”, the lawmaker added.
Meanwhile, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, this morning raised the alarm that the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DG – DSS), Lawan Daura and 30 APC Senators are spearheading fresh moves to illegally impeach Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
According to Frank, the 30 APC Senators are bring led by the Senate leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North.
Preparatory to the meeting of the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives slated for 12 noon today, men of the DSS are stopping Journalists and staff from gaining entrance to the National Assembly complex.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions and a very strong loyalist of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, PDP, Kwara South has been stopped from entering the National Assembly as DSS take over the complex.
Even a Journalist who had tried to enter had his phone sophisticated by the security operatives, though it was said to have been returned to him after some minutes.
Meanwhile, Frank who raised the alarm in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday morning, said that the APC National Chairman, the DSS and the APC Senators group met last night in Abuja to perfect strategies on how to carry out the plot.
He said that he has reliable information that the meeting was at the instance of Oshiomhole who is currently pressurizing President Muhammadu Buhari to accept his proposal of using “crude tactics” to topple Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
According to him, reliable information emanating from the meeting, that National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the APC, Chief Adeniyi Adebayo, joined Oshiomhole in pushing for the illegality while some APC Senators and House of Representatives members at the meeting kicked against the plot saying any “forceful removal of Saraki without due process will not fly with Nigerians.”
The lawmakers, according to Frank, were said to have further alerted Oshiomhole and the APC leadership that they only have 30 Senators on ground which will fall short of the 73 Senators required to lawfully impeach Saraki.
According to them, while other APC Senators have since travelled out of the country on vacation, a proposal to appoint Senator Lawan from Yobe State as Saraki’s replacement would be a direct violation of the Federal Character Principle since the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara is from Bauchi in the Northeast zone like Lawan.
Frank noted that following the red flag raised by some of the APC Senators who warn of the consequences of the proposed illegality, the meeting was said to have been rescheduled to reconvene by 11am this morning enable Oshiomhole to call Mr. President in London at 9am this morning to brief him on the progress made so far.
It was further learnt that Oshiomhole is expected to present the candidature of both Senators Lawan and George Akume to the President to make his choice during his proposed telephone conversation with Mr. President by 9am.
He alleged that the Presidency through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has increased the $400,000 it is already offering to lure individual lawmakers to support the plot to illegally impeach Saraki to $500,000.
According to him, the lawmakers are also being wooed with offers to drop all corruption charges against them by the Federal Government.
He insisted that Saraki’s life and personal safety is at stake while appealing to Nigerians and leaders of the international community to urgently speak out to protect the President of the Senate, Saraki, and safeguard democracy in Nigeria.
He said that the illegal plot to break into the Senate Chambers to illegally impeach Saraki, if allowed to happen, could lead to chaos and anarchy of unimaginable proportion in the country, capable of burying the nation’s democracy apart from the danger it portents for the lives, security and safety of Nigerians.