The Presidency today dismissed as “fictive” a claim by embattled Senate President Bukola Saraki that a cabal with a nefarious agenda had seized the executive sector of governance.
In a statement signed by presidential spokesman Femi Adesina and titled “Senator Saraki and the Fictive Cabal,” the Presidency responded to Mr. Saraki’s recent assertion that there was “now a government within the government of President Buhari.”
“This claim by Senator Saraki would have been more worth the while, if it had been backed with more information. If he had proceeded to identify those who constitute the ‘government within the government,’ it would have taken the issue beyond the realm of fiction and mere conjecture. But as it stands, the allegation is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep, and say anything,” Mr. Adesina stated in a fiercely worded rebuttal.
In a veiled reference to the arraignment of Mr. Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu on charges of forgery of Senate rules, Mr. Adesina stated that Nigeria’s Attorney-General has the “constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law, and who has not. Pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed, a criminal act has been committed. But we leave the courts to judge.”
Mr. Adesina added: “To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous. It is not in the character of our President.”