Shocking!!!! Senate President Saraki Returning to PDP?

                                                 Senate President, Bukola Saraki

Nigerian Times authoritatively reports that Senate President, Bukola Saraki has returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According these reports monitored out of Abuja, Saraki is said to have met with the PDP caucus at the Abuja home of his deputy in the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu at the Apo Legislative Quarters. After the meeting, Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President, led a group of senators to immediate Past President Goodluck Jonathan’s Maitama home to brief him. It is not yet clear what the final decisions are on the matter.

Nigerian Times reports a source that was at the meeting as saying that Saraki, who has faced persecution from the leadership of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) decided to leave the party and return to the PDP, which he left in 2014 with five PDP Governors. It is now of public knowledge in Nigeria that Saraki who has been facing prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for falsely declared assets now believes he is being persecuted by his party APC.

There are very clear indications that Saraki wants to use the PDP as a platform to actualize his yet undeclared ambition. It is also speculated that Saraki is likely to take with him to the PDP, some APC Senators loyal to him. If that happens, it would affect the balance of power in the Senate as the PDP would most likely upturn the APC’s majority in the Red Chambers. These are really interesting times indeed for the Senate President and Nigerian politics.

“Saraki has finally had it with the APC and the Buhari government. He believes he has faced enough embarrassment and persecution from them after his investments to help the party wrest power from the PDP, ” the paper reports. 

Recently, the Senate President was in Sokoto, on the pretext of commiserating with the family of late Umaru Shinkaffi. But sources familiar with the Saraki’s travails told Nigerian Times that he met with the Sultan of Sokoto to prevail on President Mohammadu Buhari to pull back his loyalists who are bent on sending Saraki to jail. Details of that meeting are not yet in public domain. Presently, no one doubts in Nigeria that Saraki is in the battle of his life for political survival if not even his life. Returning to PDP appears to be a last ditch effort particularly now that the party stalwarts in APC appear hell bent on ruining him politically. The coming days and weeks appear to be very promising for this epic political battle playing out before our eyes.