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‘Saraki Must Step Down As Senate President If He Leaves APC’ – Ndume Blows Hot

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Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno, has urged that if Bukola Saraki, a senator from Kwara State dumps the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, he has to quit as the president of the Senate.

Senator Ndume in an interview with the Punch published on Saturday, July 28, 2018, maintained that Senate President Saraki should not continue because the leader of the Senate must emerge from the party that has the majority.

“It requires that the leadership should emerge from the majority; that is the practice all over the world,” Ndume said.

“It is the practice of the democracy we are copying that the Senate President must come from the party that has the majority. And Nigeria’s case will not be different.

“Morally, yes. It is only in our place that people just do things that are aberrations.

”If not, morally, ab initio, Ekweremadu, coming from a minority party, is not supposed to be the deputy denate president. And Saraki cannot continue, morally; if I were him, once I leave the party, I will leave Senate presidency.’

Operatives of Nigeria's secret police, the State Security Services, SSS, also known as DSS, have desieged the residence of Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy president of the Nigerian Senate. The operatives are seen in a video obtained by The Trent preventing movement around the official residence of the deputy senate president on Tuesday [July 24, 2018] morning. 
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Senate Chambers

Ndume denied the existence of a plot to impeach Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu as the senate president and deputy senate president. “If there was an attempt, the attempt has not manifested,” he retorted.

On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, fifteen senators announced their defection from the APC with 13 joining the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, while 2 joined the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

With this development, the ruling APC is now a minority in the Nigerian Senate with 44 senators. The People’s Democratic Party now has 66 senators. ADC has two senators, while APGA has one.

In a similar move, 37 members of the Nigerian House of Representatives have defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Thirty-two joined the PDP, while four joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC). One later announced he was also leaving the APC but did not state his new party.

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has issued a statement saying it accepts the defections of federal lawmakers which occurred at the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

In an e-mailed statement to The Trent on Tuesday,  Bolaji Abdulahi, the national publicity secretary of the APC, said that the party respects the “right of every citizen to political association” and urged for calm.

“APC remains in firm control of 25 states of the 36 states of the federation and maintains a clear majority in the federal House of Representatives and state assemblies,” Mr. Abdulahi declared in the brief statement.

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