Atiku Urges Nigerians To Stand With Saraki, Says EFCC Persecuting Former Senate President

Former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar has affirmed his firm support for Bukola Saraki in the face of what he alleged is the use of state powers to persecute the immediate past president of the Senate.

In a statement personally issued by him, the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP urged Nigerians everywhere to stand with Saraki as he urged the judiciary to see through what he claimed as the persecution of Senator Saraki.

He spoke against the background of the claims by the EFCC that the former Senate President would soon find himself in court in the face of ongoing investigations of his activities as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011 and his stint as Senate President between 2015 and 2019.

Saraki was Atiku’s campaign manager in his 2019 presidential bid.

He said:
“I stand against corruption in government, which was why my office personally facilitated the take-off of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, after it  was created by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

“However, there is a huge difference between prosecution and persecution. I am all for prosecuting the corrupt, but I believe it is wrong to use the instruments of state to persecute political opponent. 

“Dr. Bukola Abubakar Saraki, the immediate past Senate President, is one of the most investigated politicians in Nigeria. He has been investigated and prosecuted all the way to the Supreme Court and has prevailed against his accusers. It was expected that that should have been the end of the matter. 

“However, the revival of previously investigated cases, and the fact that Dr. Saraki was politically opposed to the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari seems to give strong grounds for objective bystanders to conclude that his current travails have gone beyond prosecution and are now tending towards persecution. 

“The laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are made for all and we fought for democracy so that the powers of the state would not be used to suborn tyranny and oppression. 

“In the instance, I urge Dr. Bukola Saraki to stand firm and take solace in the fact that Nigerians still hold the constitution higher than any other authority. 

“I urge all Nigerians, and especially those tasked with upholding the constitution and the laws of the land, to note that silence in the face of oppression is akin to acquiescence. I, Atiku Abubakar, will always stand up for the constitution and Nigeria.”

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