Senate presidency: Party must follow due process, says Saraki

Ahmad Lawan and Bukola Saraki

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, on Monday urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to follow due process and consider competence of aspirants in determining the candidate of the party for the Senate presidency.

Saraki,  who is one of the two aspirants contesting the office of the Senate President next month during the inauguration of the 8th Senate, in an interview with journalists in Abuja,  specifically asked the APC leadership to pick a senator that have vision and who is ready to work, not because of what he stands to gain.

He said, “Part of leadership is being principled and committed to be able to stand for the things that are right despite discomfort. If you look at my comments, my views have been that the issue that has crippled us is the ability to manage our revenue effectively.”

He said Nigeria would be able to solve its social and economic crisis with the right persons at the helms of affairs of both the executive and the legislature, which is the real symbol of democracy.

He said, “If you are talking about leadership, whether in the Executive or the National Assembly, you must have people that have the grasp or understanding of what is required. It is not just being there for being in the position.

“You must think of the value the person brings to the people and I believe that in the area of oversight, we can improve on our relationship with the executive.”

On the issue of party endorsement, Saraki said what Nigerians voted for was change, which is,  trying to do things in a different way, and allow people to express their desire.

He insisted the National Assembly members should be able to pick who they want on the day of inauguration while the party should only play an advisory role.

The senator said, “The APC should decide on which route to take; whether to do business as usual, the way it used to be done in the other party or to move away from that to what is more favourable in today’s dispensation – allowing due process and internal democracy by making people to choose.

“I feel it is always easier at the end of the day to achieve unity and progress when people are given the choice and there is fairness and equity. Where you begin to see problem is where you see injustice, where 16 is greater than 19.

“In as much as the party has not put its foot down, I think that within the APC senators, there can be internal democracy or within the 109 Senators, there can be a process. The key thing is, as a country, to move away from those things as seen before as problems of our democracy.”

Saraki allayed the fears in some  quarters that the high turnover of new legislators in the 8th senate would slow down legislative activities saying that  the newly elected senators would demonstrate political will and commitment.

He said the development  would not affect their performance because many of them had acquired experience from other areas where they previously served the country.

Saraki said the senate had done well in the past to stabilise the polity but beyond that, the institution must have a national agenda or laws.