R-APC asks Saraki to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant

The Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC) has asked Senate President Bukola Saraki to declare the seat of Godswill Akpabio, former minority of the upper legislative chamber, vacant.

Last week, Akpabio formally defected to the APC at a rally held in Akwa Ibom state.

In a statement on Sunday, Kassim Afegbua, spokesman of the R-APC, said Akpabio’s seat has become vacant in line with section 68 of the constitution because there is no division in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“We are calling on the senate president to invoke the provisions of section 68 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) in declaring the seat of senator Godswill Akpabio vacant,” the statement read.

“It is not on record that there is division in the opposition PDP, hence this declaration will be a step in the right direction.”

Afegbua said the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators are “hell bent” on removing Saraki on Tuesday when the national assembly resumes to consider the supplementary budget for the 2019 elections.

“By this statement, the national working committee of the R-APC wishes to alert the public that the factional leadership of the All Progressives Congress Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has perfected plans to make the Tuesday, August 14th resumption date another kettle of fish for the illegal impeachment of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki,” he said.

“This time, they are hell bent on giving nebulous interpretation to the provision of the 1999 constitution (as amended) by using the numbers of senators present to provoke an impeachment. To this end, they have called on all APC senators to make it a point of duty to participate at the plenary on Tuesday to pass a vote of ‘no confidence’ on the senate president.

“This will be followed by orchestrated rancourous plenary session from where impeachment motion would be raised and their illegality perpetrated.

“There have been two meetings of the leaders and the senators in the last 48 hours to perfect this approach. The security agencies have also been briefed according to information reaching us. The APC factional chairman has been boasting and insisting that the senate president would be impeached by whatever means because he no longer deserves to wear the crown.”

The spokesman also called on Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to sack Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police (IGP), who has incompetence.”

Afegbua wondered how the police would exonerate themselves from the blockade of the national assembly last week.

“We are also calling on the acting president to sack the current Inspector-general of policd who has shown a manifest incompetence in the discharge of his responsibilities,” he said.

“For example, how can an interim report of the police on the Lawan Daura saga litter the pages of social media platforms when the investigation remains yet inconclusive? How canthe Police exonerate itself from the act when it was reported that a Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Habila was seen in a meeting with Senators at the Aso Drive private office of the factional chairman of APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole? What was he doing there as early as 10am on that fateful morning of Tuesday, 7th August, 2018?

“We are calling for an independent judicial investigation panel made of eminent Jurists to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the failed political coup d’etat that clearly undermined the legislature as an arm of government, and also the invasion of the private residences of judges, siege on the residences of the senate president and his deputy.

“Getting the police to do the job is to exonerate the police bearing in mind their earlier siege on the residences of the senate president and deputy senate president barely a week earlier.”