I can't reverse Ndume's suspension, says Saraki

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has expressed his helplessness over the plea to reverse the suspension of the Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, ex­plaining that it was a collective decision of all senators.

Saraki said he, therefore, lack the powers to unilater­ally recall Ndume, who was suspended for six months fol­lowing his allegations of fraud against Saraki and university certificate forgery against an­other senator, Dino Melaye.

Saraki spoke with State House Correspondents yes­terday after he and the Speak­er of House of Representa­tives, Yakubu Dogara, met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

Saraki and Dogara both described the parley with the President as routine consul­tation although the Speaker declared that the type of cur­rent face-off between the Leg­islature and Executive that led to the rejection of some of Buhari’s nominees, was nor­mal, being part and parcel of democracy.

Asked whether the visit of the Borno State governor, Kassim Shetima, to him at the weekend on behalf of Ndume would make him to reconsid­er his position, Saraki said “I wish I had such powers, these powers you give me. I wish I had them.

“The Senate President or Speaker is first among equals. They are just presiding of­ficers, unfortunately, you know the legislative arm is the youngest and people don’t understand. People give us the powers that we have.

“Decision taken in plenary is decision of all but I have a role to be able to convey the message. I will convey the message of the visit of the Governor of Borno.

“The Senate is one. We are all one family. There will be is­sues like that, there is nothing that is sacrosanct or rigid.”

The Senate President added that he was at the Presidential Villa to brief Buhari on issues such as the 2017 Budget and the passage of INEC’s elec­tronic voting, saying that bud­get will be passed very soon.

Saraki, who denied any kind of face-off between the Legislative and the Executive, however welcomed the com­mittee set up by the Presi­dency to interface with the National Assembly on the rejection of Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Econom­ic and Financial Crimes Com­mission, EFCC amongst rifts. The Authority