Senate orders newspaper probe over “anti-Buhari” report

Twenty senators of the Northern caucus of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate, who with 59 others co-sponsored the confidence vote passed on the leadership of the legislative body, Thursday, denied working against the interest and agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Nation had published a report, alleging that the Northern senators aligned with their Peoples Democratic Party counterparts to team up “with the opposition to work against President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling party”.

However, at a press briefing on Thursday, the Chairman, Senate ad hoc committee on Media and Publicity, Dino Melaye, dismissed the allegation on behalf of his colleagues.

Mr. Melaye said the report which dubbed the 22 senators “Anti – Buhari”, “was wicked, satanic and unacceptable because all of them actually worked for Buhari’s victory at the poll and had determined to ensure the success of his administration”.

He also alleged that the sponsors of the publication were “actually the real enemies of the president because their action was capable of causing disunity between the South and the North.”

He added that the publication was a great disservice to the nation, stressing the commitment of the members and leadership of the 8th senate to the efforts of ensuring the success of Mr. Buhari’s agenda of moving the country forward.

Mohammed Shittu, Jigawa State, recited Quranic verses and rained curses on the writers and sponsors of the publication, describing them as enemies of Nigeria.

He held that those who invited APC senators to the International Conference Centre for a purported meeting with the President on the day of the inauguration, were the real enemies of Mr. Buhari.

Binta Garba, Adamawa State, added that there was no way she could be part of any agenda working against Mr. Buhari, when the North East zone from where she hails relies on the president to defeat Boko Haram.

Earlier at the plenary, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, ruling on a point of order by the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, on the matter, asked its committee on Ethics and privileges, to investigate the publication, the publisher, and the writer to ascertain the intention and submit its report within a week.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ndume’s claim that the publisher of the Nation newspapers was behind the report apparently hit a raw nerve in Oluremi Tinubu, from Lagos State, who protested the claim.

– Premium Times