APC chieftain tags Saraki ‘double agent’

Yekini Nabena, deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has challenged Senate President Bukola Saraki to make his intentions clear on whether he wishes to remain with the party or not.

The APC has been faced with some realignments, with some members hinting on leaving the party.

The reformed All Progressives Congress (rAPC ), a faction iwithin the ruling party, had met with the PDP on July 9 to sign a memorandum of understanding on presenting a presidential candidate that will slug it out with President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

The new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), which Saraki was member of, is also threatening to break away from the APC.

Also, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Saraki’s chief of staff, and some aides of top APC members have dumped the party, but Saraki is yet to make clear his intentions on where he stands.

In a statement sent to TheCable on Sunday, Nabena accused Saraki of being a double agent.

“Saraki must declare now where he belongs, whether he is for APC or other political interests. He cannot serve God and mammon. He cannot play hide-and-seek. He cannot hide behind his fingers,” the statement read.

“In recent times, there have been attempts to discredit the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the federal government it controls by a roguish alliance of forces within and outside the party.

“The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has loomed large in this scheme. Saraki has never hidden his sympathy for those who have launched a vicious attack on the APC, a party that gave both him and the nascent mudslingers the platform on which they ply their political careers.

“The APC is not averse to dissenting positions. But we reject deceit in every shade or form.”

Nabena told Saraki that he is free to leave the APC, while warning him not to “try to destroy a house that gave him accommodation”.

He also accused him of being the brains behind the emergence of the rAPC.

“We are aware that a number of Saraki’s aides and close allies have left APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For example, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has returned to his former home in PDP; Saraki’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed has withdrawn his membership from APC,” the statement continued.

“We are also not unaware of the fact that Saraki is the brawn and the brains of the so-called Reformed All Progressives Congress (rAPC).

“APC is a democratic institution and Saraki is free to make choices in accordance with the laws of the country. But he cannot continue to take members of APC for a ride.

“Politics is based on trust. Saraki has betrayed the trust reposed on him by the party. If he wants to leave APC, let him leave peacefully, and not try to destroy a house that gave him accommodation when he needed it most.

“His current attitude can only be the action of a traitor or a double agent.”