The embattled President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has
allegedly threatened to frustrate the government of President Muhammadu Buhari
if the current corruption charges against him with Code of Conduct Tribunal is
not dropped, report according to Secret Reporters suggests.
The Senate President with some colleagues at the senate
resolved to use the fraudulent portions discovered in the 2016 budget as bait
to achieve their aim.
There are indications that the budget has been used as a
negotiating ground between the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki and the
Presidency.
Our source says the only clause keeping the budget from
being passed by the Senators, who are mostly loyal to Saraki is the inability
of Buhari to yield into the sole condition given by Saraki.
It was gathered authoritatively that when Buhari was away on
his five days’ vacation, the Senate President sneaked into the Presidential
Villa to tell the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo to warn the President to stop
his trial at the code of conduct tribunal or risk the anger of Nigerians
through the budget, Secret Reporters says.
Our sources revealed that Saraki told Osibanjo in plain term
that the budget will never be passed by the Red Chambers unless the presidency
is ready to accept his condition.
According to sources knowledgeable with the
plots of the Senate President, he has decided to leak out grey areas of fraud
to the public in order to embarrass Buhari, and will never stop until his trial
is stalled by the code of conduct bureau (CCB).
The source revealed that this is not the first time that a
budget will be sent to the Senate, but this is the first time it has faced
public scrutiny and condemnation, with clear fears that it may never be passed,
except the Presidency bows to Saraki demand or remove the fraud noticed in it.
The budget we gathered was supposed to take care of the
lawmakers extravagant and corrupt lifestyle, like it was in previous
administrations but the introduction of the treasury single account (TSA) has
put a stop to it, as every minister who want to take money from the treasury
has to account for details it will be used for, and no minister wants to risk
going before the President that they need money to give as kickback to
legislators before most of the budget will be approved as pass mark.
Attempts to speak to Mr Saraki New Media aide, Omisore whose
phone number ends with 746 proved abortive, as he didn’t pick nor returned our
calls.
In a related development, report News Punch earlier
published as culled from the Punch Newspaper revealed the embattled President
of the Senate, Bukola Saraki actually sent some emissaries to the Presidential
Villa while President Muhammadu Buhari was away on six days’ vacation, to beg
the President to drop the CCT corruption charges against Saraki.
he emissaries headed by reportedly led by the Senate Leader,
Ali Ndume, was at the Villa to beg the President through the acting President,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Punch Newspaper reported that, said Saraki could not reach
out directly to Buhari on the matter because he knew the President’s
disposition to such issues.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that
the Senate President resorted to sending emissaries to Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo when Buhari was on a six-day vacation and Osinbajo was the acting
President.
The delegation was reportedly led by the Senate Leader, Ali
Ndume.
The source said the Vice-President made his position and
that of the President clear to Saraki’s emissaries.
He said, “Saraki knows the kind of person the President is
and I think he won’t approach him directly on this matter.
“But yes, I can tell you that he is reaching out indirectly.
“He sent emissaries to meet with the Vice-President when the
President was on vacation and the Vice-President was on the chair in acting
capacity.
“The emissaries had met with the Vice-President under the
cover of the developments about the 2016 budget.
“In the process, they put the issue of Saraki forward.
“Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, however, made it equivocally
clear to them that the two issues could not be mixed. He told them that the
issue of the budget was different from the trial of Saraki.”
Ndume had on Tuesday led some of his colleagues, including
Dino Melaye, Abdullahi Adamu and Monsurat Sumonu to meet Osinbajo at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the end of the closed-door session, Ndume told State
House correspondents that the meeting reviewed some developments in the polity,
including the issue of the 2016 budget currently before the National Assembly.
While saying that it would not be a new thing if people read
meanings into their visit, Ndume had claimed that his delegation did not
discuss Saraki’s travails with the Vice-President.
He was however quick to rise in support of the Senate
President when his opinion was sought on the calls by his colleagues in the
Unity Forum that Saraki should resign.
“Are you saying that the Senate President should be
convicted before the trial? In our constitution, you are considered innocent
until proven guilty,” he had said.
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