The All Progressives Congress, APC, has expressed confidence that Senate President Bukola Saraki will not return to represent Kwara Central at the Senate.
The APC still maintains that the Senate president is an usurper and therefore the people of his constituency will reject him in the coming election.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu stated that President Muhammadu Buhari would not be distracted from performing his duties by Saraki.
He said: “We have never given up on the issue of Saraki remaining in position as Senate President. We will continue to regard him as a usurper.
“There is nowhere in the world, in a presidential system of government, where the minority sits as the leader of the National Assembly, be it in the Senate or House of Representatives. It is for the party in the majority to decide who the leader is.
“Though we see him as a usurper, we are a serious government. We have a responsibility towards governance.
“This is somebody whose main interest is to ensure that we don’t have the opportunity to do those things that we have promised to do for the people of this country.
“We won’t allow such a person to constitute a hindrance to governance. So, we have to be practical and pragmatic as possible in a way that we will be able to deliver on our promises.
Issa-Onilu expressed confidence that Saraki would not return to the Senate for another term.
“We know that election will take care of him. His people are going to reject him. The people of Kwara Central will reject him at the polls come February. So, he is not a major issue for us now.
“The major task before us is to continue to execute those major projects that we are executing, come up with policies and programmes that will positively impact on the lives of Nigerians.
“We are focusing on things that will make Nigerians renew our mandate in this election. But that doesn’t mean we ignore the fact that he is a usurper who is sitting on the seat that doesn’t belong to him,” he said.
Reacting to the statement by APC, Saraki who spoke through Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, his Special Adviser on Media, labelled the statement an empty wish which can never materialise.
He said: “It is an empty wish. They are not God who can determine the future of anyone. The people of Kwara know those who are with them.
“These people talking are visiting politicians to Kwara. They are the type of people we refer to as seasonal politicians.”
