- Senator Adamu reacts to the allegation that he is plotting to remove Senate president Saraki
- He denies the allegation, adding that he is not interested in the Senate presidency seat
- Adamu, who has been referred to Senate ethics committee, says he is not afraid of suspension
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, representing Nasarawa West, said he has no personal problem with the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, as alleged in some quarters.
Adamu, who stated this in an interview with Daily Trust, added that he is not interested in the Senate presidency seat and is not plotting to remove the Senate president as alleged by some of his colleagues.
He, however, said he doesn’t usually agree with the Senate president’s ways of doing things.
He said: "I have no problem with the Senate president; I’m not looking for his seat but somehow he is a kind of guy who is operating by proxy, principle of proxy. You know he has errand boys who take it upon themselves to do the hatchet man. If there is anything that is going to happen and he feels it will be a bit hard to swallow, he will make sure he is not on the stage and he will have Ike Ekweremadu to do the dirty work for him."
The lawmaker said even though he supports the idea of strengthening institutions, he has “a terrible allergy for people using public institutions to serve themselves instead of public good.”
Further talking about the Senate president, Adamu said: "As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have anything against him. I’m not God. God made him the president of the Senate. Whatever the circumstances that he followed, as a Muslim I believe that it was God that made him. It wouldn’t have been possible if God did not will it. As a faithful, I took it to be so and till date that’s my attitude to him, and he knows it.
“What I do not accept is that as he always says, and as most people say when it is convenient for them, “Use good reasons to do bad things.”
Reacting to the allegations of the N70m reportedly swallowed by a monkey, Senator Adamu said it was just a mere attempt to paint him bad in the eyes of the public.
He said: "In order to give a dog a bad name, they now went to say that they had N70m that I mismanaged or whatever. The NSF, to the best of my knowledge, has never had N70m, at least not during my tenure that they purported it was mismanaged. We inherited something in the region of N62m/N63m that was declared by the outgone secretary of the forum who happens to be the present Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan. I didn’t touch one kobo until when we were going to Katsina for the NSF retreat. When we were going, we got the same guys to sign for the transport fares.
"Every senator that attended was paid N250, 000 as an allowance for his two days and everyone also got N150, 000 for the return ticket. They got these and they signed. The remaining money was returned to Abuja and was paid back into the account.
"You know, when you talk of money, everybody’s attention will be attracted. They did this to get attention, but this is just garbage, and for the allegation, it is up to them to prove."
When asked if he is not afraid of suspension as he has also been referred to the ethics committee which suspended Senator Ali Ndume last year, Adamu said he is not afraid of whatever the committee comes up with.
“Afraid of what? I’m 72 years old. I did not buy it from the market and my father was a headmaster when I was born; so he knew how to keep records of the birth of his children. My birthday is not based on the reign of an emir or fire disaster or famine; the date I was born was recorded. If I’m suspended; that would not be the end of the world. I’m a professional, I can go back to engineering; I will feed. I can go back to the law profession. I’m a lawyer and I will feed.
“Also, I can engage myself in farming, I’m a farmer and I will feed myself and others. I didn’t come to the Senate because I had nothing doing, no. I came because my people wanted me to represent them. When I ended my tenure as governor, I left the stage completely until when my constituents came calling.
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Like I keep saying, I didn’t inherit a political empire, I worked through the ladder to get to where I’m, and till tomorrow, I can answer my father’s name,” he said.
NAIJ.com previously reported that Senator Adamu on Monday, February 26, admonished his colleagues and members of the House of Representatives “plotting” against President Muhammadu Buhari to quit the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adamu who spoke in Keffi, Nasarawa state while addressing party members, also condemned some APC senators and reps for sitting on the fence in order to sabotage Buhari.
According to him, there is no point using a party platform to win elections only to be disrespecting the party in the name of legislative immunity and to be plotting against the president.
He berated such National Assembly members for cutting the umbilical cord between them and their party.
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Source: Naija.ng