We Won’t Abandon Saraki – PDP •Denies Shopping For Senate President’s Replacement

Olisa-MetuhThe Peoples Democratic Party has declared its unwavering support for Senate president Bukola Saraki, dismissing reports that it is scheming to replace him.
We had reported on Sunday that the opposition PDP was already penciling down some of its Senators to replace Saraki, who is currently under pressure to resign from office following his trial for false asset declaration by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, on Sunday, said the party still believed that the Senate president’s trial was politically motivated and that the PDP would not think of abandoning him until it sees the merit of the case.
Metuh said, “We have no candidate for the office of the Senate President, because we have a fit person occupying the position for now.
“We are behind him and we can’t abandon him just because he is undergoing trial. Anybody can be put on trial, but the question we should ask is whether the trial is political or not.
“Does the trial have merit? When we see the merit of the case, we will take position. But for now, there is nothing like that”.
Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, is currently facing 13 counts of making false declaration as a governor between 2003 and 2011.
While insisting that Saraki’s trial is as a result of his political belief, Metuh said it was too early for the PDP to be talking with its members in the Senate or thinking of abandoning the Senate president.
According to the opposition spokesman, “We are not even thinking of replacement for Saraki for now. The National Assembly is a separate arm of the government just like the judiciary and the executive.
“Is anyone thinking that there would be leadership change in the executive and the judiciary?
“Are they not independent of the other? What we are interested in is that all the three arms of government must be allowed to function independently of the other. We are saying there shouldn’t be any interference”.
Metuh also stated that Saraki’s “trial doesn’t amount to conviction”.

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