Following reports which say that the plan by the senate to probe the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss Ibrahim Lamorde is due to the ongoing investigation of Toyin Saraki, Senate President, Bukola Saraki’s wife. The Senate is set to probe Lamorde for the alleged diversion of N1 trillion recovered from corrupt politicians. The probe is set to be conducted by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions and will begin on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.
The senate president Bukola Saraki has released a press statement to deny that the probe campaign is a revenge plot…Read below;
The attention of the media office of the President of the Senate, Sen. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has been drawn to a publication alleging that the Senate President hired one Uboh to smear the integrity of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC.
It is pertinent and with all sense of responsibility and commitment to state unequivocally that the story is far from the truth. A fabricated story that can not sell to dent the image of Senator Saraki.
The general public is fully aware that the said online platform which first published the false story has been a paid agent of media attacks on the person of the Senate President and that all allegations made by the online platform against the Senate President have fallen flat on their face as bare lies, concocted with malicious intention.
To set the record straight, no body can rightfully claim that Senator Saraki engaged the services of the petitioner or any other person for that matter. There are about four different petitions from individuals, groups and corporate organisations written against the EFCC and submitted to the Senate.
Most of these petitions are dated 27/07/2015 and 31/07/2015 while some bothers on issues between 2013, 2014 and 2015. There are petitions that are directly written and received by the Senate while in some, the petition was written to the President and the Senate were copied.
Further to the above, EFCC is not the only government agency that has petition against it pending before the Senate. There are pending petitions against the CG Custom, FIRS and NPA, amongst others. Is it also Senator Saraki that hired or engaged people to do this? What evidence does Sahara reporter have that links Senator Saraki to all these petitions before the Senate?
The Senate President has no relationship whatsoever with Mr Uboh in any capacity or in the course of his emergence as Senate President. If anybody has any proof of a relationship between Senator Saraki and the said Mr. Uboh, let him or her come forward to prove it.
Our Investigation showed that Uboh’s petition has been in public domain since 2013 and that the details has been reported in national newspapers as well as cited in court proceedings. The Senate President could not be said to have hired any one to write a petition for him as he has no issue to sort out with any individual, group of people or an organisation.
Therefore, any insinuation that Senator Saraki is attempting to prevent EFCC from carrying out its constitutional responsibility is a hoax and an imagination of the writer.
Let it be known that the idea of people using the media to intimidate or blackmail the Senate to prevent it from performing its constitutional and legislative duties will be resisted and as such, meet stiff opposition expressed through lawful means. Senator Saraki is not the same as the Senate or National Assembly as an institution. Imputing sentiment into the legitimate working of any government institution will not urgur well for our development and democratic process.
Signed
Bamikole Omishore
Special Assistant to the Senate President (New Media)
