Moves To Impeachment Senate President Gaining More Ground.

The battle against the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, appears to be taking different twists and turns by the day.

This is even as he denied sitting on letters of defection by senators.

The skirmish against La­wan had on Thursday took a different twist when opposi­tion lawmakers accused him of preventing them from tak­ing a drastic action against President Muhammadu Bu­hari over the deplorable secu­rity situation in the country.

The lawmakers gave Pres­ident Buhari six weeks to do something about the security situation in the country, failing which they would have no oth­er option than to impeach him.

There is also insinuation in some quarters that Lawan may be impeached when the Senate reconvenes in Septem­ber, if care is not taken.

Denying the allegation of sitting on letters of defection, Lawan, in a statement at the weekend by his Special Advis­er (Media), Ola Awoniyi, said there was no letter of defection before him.

The statement read: “We have seen a story on social me­dia and some online newspa­pers purporting that the Pres­ident of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, is sitting on letters from some Senators allegedly intimating him of their defec­tions from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The story insinuated that Lawan is sitting on the pur­ported letters to protect his position as the President of the Senate.

“We hereby state categor­ically that the story is utter falsehood as there is no such letter before the Senate Pres­ident.

“The report mentioned only Senator Adamu Bulka­chuwa as one of the affected Senators.

“Obviously, the purveyors of the syndicated lies had not even bothered to confirm from the Distinguished Sena­tor if and when he submitted any such letter to the Senate President.

“It is public knowledge that the Senate President has always promptly read out at plenaries letters by Senators defecting from one party to another.

“The Senate President is sufficiently knowledgeable about the rules and workings of the Senate and has been discharging his responsibili­ties within the ambit of those rules.

“That is why he has contin­ued to enjoy the confidence and full cooperation of his fel­low Distinguished Senators ir­respective of party affiliations.

Apparently, some vested interests want to magnify chal­lenges to sow seeds of discord in Parliament in promotion of their selfish agenda.

“We wish to reiterate that the Senate President is not withholding or sitting on any letter of whatever content from any of his Distinguished Senator colleagues.

“Therefore, any story pur­porting such exists only in the imagination of the mischief makers circulating it.”

Senator Sankara Dissociates Self From Plot

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Informa­tion and National Orientation, Senator Danladi Sankara, has dissociated himself from the alleged plot by some senators to impeach the Senate Presi­dent in order to pave way for the eventual impeachment of President Buhari.

Senator Sankara, who is representing Jigawa North West in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, refuted trending claims by certain on­line publications linking him to the plot by some senators to impeach Lawan.

In his reaction to the re­ports, the lawmaker said at no time was he consulted or coopted into such plan by the eleven other senators alleged to masterminding the plot.

He said: “At no time was I consulted or coopted into such plan. It is just the fig­ment of imagination of the online publications and the others who are linking me to such a move.

“I was present throughout plennary sessions of last Tuesday and Wednesday, nobody approached me or sought my consent to join any move to impeach the Senate President or the pres­ident Muhammadu Buhari.”

He pointed out that what is required at this time is ma­turity and understanding of leaders and people to ensure that Nigeria overcome the challenges of insecurity and economic downturn.

He said: “it is very im­portant for leaders to ex­plore workable methods to address the issues of inse­curity. It is not proper for us to further heat up the polity when we should put heads together to explore workable solutions to the issues of the economy and insecurity. It is a collective responsibility on the part of the leaders and the people.”