Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has advised the security agencies in the country to be wary and avoid being manipulated by politicians as the 2023 Presidential elections get nearer.
Reacting to the recent court case in which the Department of State Services (DSS) sought the order to arrest the Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over alleged terrorism and other sundry charges, the former number three citizen said there needs to be further clarification on the action of the secret service.
He added that without holding brief for the CBN governor, his concern is that “as a victim of a similar wrong and politically-motivated accusation”, he felt that there were some clouds around the DSS court action coming two months to the general election.
Saraki said more worrisome is the fact that this is happening at a time the apex bank introduced tough guidelines on the cashless regime and change of currency which could work against those who had planned to resort to vote-buying in the election.
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“As somebody who had been wrongly accused of involvement in the Offa robbery by political opportunists and manipulators before their evil plots now begin to unravel in the court of law, I feel that a similar intrigue is being weaved by those who are bent on sabotaging the 2023 elections as the obvious outcome is not going their way.”
“In this court case in which the CBN governor is being accused of terrorism through a suit which the Federal High Court has now described as frivolous and without concrete evidence, my position is not to support Emefiele but to support democracy which is being targeted by the plotters.
“With all the due respect that I have for the DSS as a very professional security agency, I still found it very difficult to understand what led to the charges, why concrete evidence that will enable the court to take a good decision was not provided and why the Department gave room for suspicion and speculations as the case file have gapping holes as noted by the Honourable Judge John Tsoho.
“One of the suspicions this case has raised is that it is part of a grand plot by those who want to undermine and sabotage the coming general election because their calculation on vote buying, rigging, and excessive use of money is falling apart. The new CBN regulation on a cashless regime in which individuals can only withdraw N100,000 a week and N20,000 per day is sure to frustrate the partisan fraudsters, the mischievous politicians and unpatriotic elements who aim to win the election at all costs even when they are being rejected at the polls.
“The CBN guidelines have derailed the plan of those who believe that they will not allow the ‘one man, one vote system’ in which the electorate freely choose their representatives in a fair and peaceful atmosphere. I urge the DSS, police, NSCDC, the military, and all security agencies to be wary of political manipulators, despots, and anarchists who may want to use the case to derail the free and fair election regime that the new Electoral Act, INEC and President Muhammadu Buhari have promised.
“These same undesirable elements in the political process have attempted to use the National Assembly to scuttle the electoral process by frustrating the provisions on electronic transmission of results, use of Biometric Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), the new guidelines on currency change and cash withdrawal. They failed. They have also put pressure on the presidency to reverse some of these innovations. They did not succeed. Now, they are resorting to the use of the judiciary.”
“I hereby urge the security agencies to distance themselves from the anarchists and anti-democratic elements masquerading as democrats or political players. With the current situation in the country, all the citizens, national institutions, residents, and foreign friends of Nigeria should commit to the goal of having free, fair, peaceful, and credible polls in 2023. It is my prayer that next year’s election should provide a positive turning point for rebuilding, refocusing, resetting, redeeming, restructuring, repositioning, and revamping our country”, Saraki stated in a statement which Yusuph Olaniyonu, his spokesman, issued on his behalf.
