.Ekweremadu Says Victory Is Sweet
By Baron Ike
Wild jubilation erupted at the Senate and parts of Kwara State on Wednesday, June 14 when information filtered in that the Code of conduct Tribunal prosecuting Senate President Bukola Saraki over fraudulent declaration of assets had dismissed all the charges brought against him by the government.
Activities at the government House Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State where Saraki hails from almost came to an end when the report that the Senate President who was a two term governor of the state has been let off the hook of the CCT that has been trying him since 2015 when Saraki ascended the office.
At the Senate, Saraki’s supporters could not hide their feelings with most of them saying that the plan of those who wanted to put him down because he emerged Senate President has failed.
Most of them said that the distraction which the case caused the Senate President was uncalled for and that all was because of politics.
Saraki was not only mobbed by his colleagues at the venue of the trial, but he was openly greeted as “a strong” politician by some of the senators.
For instance, he Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, described as “victory for democracy”, the discharge and acquittal of Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Reacting to the Tribunal’s verdict on Wednesday, Ekweremadu said it did not come to him as a surprise given that, like the trumped up forgery and conspiracy charges slammed against himself and the Senate President, but which was later withdrawn by the Federal Government, the CCT trial was hatched in the coven of evil politics and was, therefore, bound to fall like a pack of cards.
He said: “This is another sweet victory for the 8th Senate in particular, separation of powers, rule of law, and the nation’s democracy. The trial, just like the arraignment of the presiding officers of the Senate on trumped up charges of forgery of Senate Standing Rules, was political vendetta and manipulations taken too far.
“It was never built on any iota of truth, but on the quicksand of falsehood and was, therefore, condemned to sink under the weight of law and justice.
While congratulating the Senate President for “standing firm and tall in the face of political tribulation” and commending the Distinguished Senators for their unflinching support and solidarity to the Senate leadership the turbulent years, Ekweremadu, however, said the Senate would, nonetheless, never let down its guards.
He also thanked Nigerians who have continued to stand with the Upper Chamber every step of the way despite apparently contrived and reckless efforts to destabilise and bring the Senate and its leadership to disrepute.