Senator Saraki has no moral right to preside over the Senate

The Coalition of Northern Youths Association CNYA has stated that with the the current crisis bedevilling the Senate President which culminated in his arraignment at the Code of Conduct Tribunal last week, he is no longer morally fit to occupy the office if the president and should step down for a more qualified Senator to preside over the affairs of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. At the end of its meeting in Kaduna at the weekend, the group noted that it has resolved to mobilise its members and senators to rally round Senator Barnabas Gemade to become the next Senate President in view of the corruption charges involving the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki. The statement signed by the national coordinator of the group, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed stated that the current crisis bedevilling the Senate President with his eventual arraignment at the Code of Conduct Tribunal last week has raised a moral issues about his fitness to preside. According to the group “we strongly believe that Senator Saraki has no moral right to preside over the affairs of the Senate based on the allegations levelled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau, and he cannot be facing trial and at the same time presiding over the affairs of the Senate. As such the best option left for him now, if he has conscience is to resign honourably and pave way for a new leadership in the senate’. The group pointed out that the whole world is watching Nigeria over the Sarakigate, “hence we call on the Senate President to do the needful by resigning without delay” It added added that in order not to create a leadership vacuum in the Senate and allow the opposition party, the PDP to capitalise on this, “we appeal to the previous contenders for the seat of Senate President such as Senators Ahmed Lawan and George Akume to jettison their ambition and support Senator Barnabas Gemade to become the next Senate President. ‘This is the only way out of the quagmire, considering the fact that Senator Gemade has all it takes to superintend over the Senate’. Justifying it’s choice of Senator Gemade, the group said it believed that Senator Gemade is going to entrench peace, unity and legislative decorum in the senate. “We make bold to state that as a former minister, former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and a two term Senator now in his third term, he has the capacity to steer the ship of the senate and forge unity among the senators from both the All Progressive Congress APC and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP”. They called on the National Executives of the All Progressive Congress APC to see reason with their position and commence serious consultations among party stakeholders to ensure that the exit of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President will not spell doom for the party. ‘We call on all APC Senators to throw away any toga of loyalty to any person and go for the best candidate which to us at this particular point in time is Senator Barnabas Gemade’ the group said.