As the plot around the criminal trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki continues to thicken, a Senator representing Zamfara Central senatorial zone, Kabir Garba Marafa, has urged Nigerians to resist the moves by some of his colleagues to change the constitution.
It would be recalled that a bill seeking to amend the empowering Acts of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had passed through second reading in the Nigerian Senate.
Senator Marafa, while speaking with Sahara Reporters, stated that the move to amend the constitution was a desperate attempt to save Saraki from his false asset declaration trial at the CCT.
He said: “You can also recall my call on the leadership of the Senate to respect the ranking rules. The chickens are now coming home to roost.”
The senator further stated that the move to amend the laws was a desperate attempt fueled by blind ambition and personal interest of some people.
He noted that the bill scaled through the second reading because Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was presiding and that many senators either walked out or refused to waste time arguing the bill.
“All the three proposed bills fall under constitutional amendment and not an act of the National Assembly.”
The senator further explained that the bill that scaled through second reading was a rearrangement of the constitution, while the second bill aimed at deleting or ignoring some sections of the constitution and the third sought to enlarge the immunity clause.
While noting that the bill was ‘dead on arrival’, Senator Marafa stated that it is ‘unfortunate that an issue like this can even be listed and given an accelerated hearing in the hallowed chamber presided over by a senior lawyer.’
