A civil society group, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, has called for the resignation of Senate President, Bukola Saraki even as he battles to save his face when his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, resumes as ordered by the Supreme Court.
While taking a swipe at some lawmakers, who it said, are making disproportionate comment to shield Saraki from prosecution, the group expressed disappointment at the manner some supposed senators have been behaving since the start of the ‘SarakiGate’, noting that their actions exhibit shamelessness and lack of morality.
CACOL, in a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran said: “CACOL finds it unintelligent for some people to continue to adduce ‘political vendetta or witch hunting’ as the reason behind the trials and travails of corruption suspects with reckless abandon for the gravity of the charges against the suspects.
“We ask why the loyalists of these corruption suspects won’t wait till their hero/es are discharged and acquitted before grandstanding and shamelessly displaying their immorality. For us, we commend the members of the Senate who are distancing themselves from the stain of corruption in line with our belief in shunning, shaming, naming and nailing corruption suspects.’
“CACOL believes that the Senate as the Upper Chamber of the law making arm of the Federal government should be conscious of its image in the minds of the people they were elected to serve in terms of integrity, legitimacy and acceptability of its decisions as whatever comes out an institution headed by a suspected criminal would be received with suspicion.
“The truth is that the wheel of justice may be slow, but it eventually catches up with the guilty. From the facts of the case available in public domain, the honourable thing that the Senate President should do is to resign or step aside for his name to be cleared,’’ Adeniran said.
The statement added that, “the history of the Nigerian Senate since 1999 is replete with similar scenarios to the present one and we remember how the Senate Presidents that got entangled in corrupt cases ended. It was only Adolphus Wabara that took the honourable path of resigning in 2005, while Evan Enwerem and Chuba Okadigbo were shamed out of office via impeachments in 1999 and 2000 respectively.”
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