•Questions sudden arraignment of CCT chairman
Fred Itua, Abuja
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, yesterday, questioned the genuineness of the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Saraki questioned the sudden re-arraignment of the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Umar, four days to the resumption of his retrial.
Saraki insinuated that his trial by the Federal Government was beyond the alleged under-declaration of assets when he held sway as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
He wrote: “As much as many Nigerians want to continue to believe that this my case is merely about asset declaration irregularities, the maneuvers, manipulation, intrigues, schemes, and ‘House of Cards’ nature of this whole case proves otherwise.
“I really wonder whether those who genuinely love this government appreciate the damage that all this is doing to our so-called ‘war against corruption.’ However, in all of this, my confidence in the judiciary and its ability to do justice in all cases remains unshakeable.”
Saraki added: “I sympathise with the chairman of the tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, for his travail in the hands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which suddenly woke up four days to the resumption of this case to file criminal charges against him.
“You will recall that in April 2016, when our lawyers asked the tribunal chairman to excuse himself from our case, because of the criminal investigation against him, the EFCC swiftly cleared Mr. Umar of any wrongdoing.
“Now, I find it amusing, that, in a dramatic turnaround, this same EFCC now thinks that Mr. Umar has a case to answer just before the commencement of my case before him. What has changed since April 2016?”