“APC didn’t give them the mandate. We did. If it means keeping night vigil at the National Assembly to ensure that their plans don’t succeed, we will do it”

Fred Itua, Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Linus Oota, Lafia

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators, yesterday, vowed to defend the country’s democracy and stop the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from impeaching the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

To achieve this, they have resolved to mount vigil at the National Assembly complex to stop the APC from effecting leadership change.

Member representing Nasarawa North senatorial district Philip Aruwa Gyunka confirmed that lawmakers have divided themselves into two groups to monitor development at the National Assembly. He said while some spend the night others are stationed there in the day to ensure that an illegal impeachment of the senate president is not carried out by the APC senators.

READ ALSO: APC senators, NWC declare war on Saraki

Senator Gyunka who spoke at the PDP secretariat in Lafia while declaring his intention to contest the 2019 governorship noted that the APC senators lacked the number to remove Saraki.

Meanwhile, the party has said decision by its senators to keep surveillance over the Senate chamber, was in line with its resolve to defend the nation’s democracy.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan told Daily Sun in a telephone interview yesterday: “The PDP is more than prepared to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy, because what the APC wants to do is to overrun the democratic space using illegality and abuse of processes. And the PDP is determined to safeguard this democracy. If some members of our party are keeping vigil in the National Assembly, it is all to ensure that the APC is not allowed to destroy the democracy that we laboured for while they were busy enjoying with Abacha.”

READ ALSO: $322m Abacha loot: Separating politics from economics

Senator Clifford Ordia, who represents Edo Central said the APC will never get 2/3 majority needed to impeach Saraki and Ekweremadu.

Ordia who said the APC will continue to chase shadows until the end of the Ninth Assembly.

“APC knows that it doesn’t have the number to remove Saraki and Ekweremandu as president of the senate and deputy president of the senate respectively. They need 2/3 to remove them and they will never have it in this Eight Senate. Let them continue to chase shadows until they get tired.

“Those saying that 2/3 of those present and voting can remove Saraki and Ekweremadu are ignorant of the law. They know that they are wrong and that they are on the wrong side of history. I don’t know why they are losing sleep over this issue. Instead of them to focus on more important things, they are chasing shadows.

“We will not allow them to remove Saraki and Ekweremadu. We will defend their mandate.

“APC didn’t give them the mandate. We did. If it means keeping night vigil at the National Assembly to ensure that their plans don’t succeed, we will do it.

“When it comes to the issue of lawmaking, there are global best practices. The parliament all over the world has a way of conducting it’s affairs. I don’t know why the APC wants to teach us how to run our business. This is a threat to democracy and we must not allow this to happen. Nigerians must rise up and defend this democracy.”

READ ALSO: Ekiti election falls below global standards – Observers

On his part, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who chairs Senate committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, agreed with Ordia. He said if keeping vigils at the National Assembly will stop the purported plans by the APC to impeach Saraki and Ekweremadu, he was ready.

He said: “Why are these people wasting their time over a project that will fail? Did APC elect Saraki and Ekweremadu that they want to remove them? Let them wasting their time until we finish this Assembly. I wonder why APC has now made this thing a project they don’t want to let go. It is something we need to interrogate.

“Oshiomhole who has been shouting that he wants to remove Saraki and Ekweremadu should be reminded that he became a governor because a court of law gave him that victory. Now, he wants to commit illegality and he doesn’t care about the consequences. He must be reminded to stop wasting his time.”