Buhari means well for Nigerians, but … —Waku

SENATOR Joseph Waku, on Sunday, said President Muhammadu Buhari meant well for the country, but for some elements, who he claimed  were trying to sabotage the efforts of the president.

He spoke, on Sunday, in Makurdi, the state capital on a number of national issues, alleging that though Buhari meant well for the country, there were some elements trying to sabotage his efforts.

Though he did not give their names, he claimed that the “big saboteurs” were within the corridors of power.

Waku restated his position that the administration must extend its ongoing fight against corruption the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo..

Waku, who represented Benue North West in the National Assembly between 1999 and 2003, described the current crusade as none issue until it covered that period.

However, he  lauded the decision of the government to withdraw  the case against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremandu over alleged an forgery of Senate Rules, describing it as  the “most appropriate thing to do in the face of no case issue.”

He claimed that from onset, there was more to the case, given the circumstances that surrounded the emergence of the leadership of the Senate last year.

“There is no justification whatsoever for dragging the Senate President and his deputy to court for criminal case, as they  were neither the authors of the said document nor the management of the National Assembly prior to when they were elected.

‘Until they went into that chamber, they were senators-elect, so, they couldn’t have forged documents to elect them. They have no legal backing to take them to court because they were not in the position to doctor or forge the documents,” he stated.’

Waku  said he was not happy with the way the whole matter went, adding that as a former member of the Senate, there was no way a member could doctor a rule.

He commended the government for toeing the path of peace by dropping the case against the Senate leadership.

Speaking on the controversial proposal to sell some national assets, which the government has denied Waku described it as a primitive thought.

“One day, we will wake up and find that we have sold the villa or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). You cannot sell off the sovereignty of the country. How is the value of  the national assets? Can their sales solve the present problem? I can bring a reasonable sum of money to this country. There is no country in the world that can run without foreign loans to be repaid with agreed terms. Some Nigerians, who have tried to bring foreign partners, have been blocked.

“There is a lot of opportunity to get out of this recession within the shortest possible period. But it all depends on the Federal Government.”

Waku, who is 70 years old, cautioned the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) not to take Nigerians for granted over their pre-election  promises they made, otherwise they risked voters’ anger in 2019.