In our local parlance, 83 Senators out of the 109 in the Upper Chamber, today, asked their embattled Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to ‘carry go!’
Saraki, it would be recalled, was docked on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja over alleged false declaration of assets and corruption. The CCT, under the chairmanship of Justice Danladi Umar, had slammed him with a 13-count charge.
Many had because of that predicted that today’s session will be stormy and may even see to the commencement of impeachment proceedings against him. But as fate would have it, 83 out of the 109 Senators passed a vote of confidence on him instead.
There was even a subtle warning from one of them, former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Yerima, that ‘anybody outside this chamber who wants to control the Senate should go and sleep’.
Saraki, ex-Governor of Kwara State, has not been finding things easy ever since his emergence as the Senate President – and against his party, All Progressives Congress’ wish. Angry APC members have accused him of all sorts, including labeling him a rebel. But so far, the son of the late strong man of Kwara politics, Chief Olusola Saraki, has managed to survive.