Pro-Saraki senators plot Fowler’s rejection over issues with Tinubu

Senators loyal to the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, have concluded strategies to reject President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee, Babatunde Fowler, as the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The Like Minds Senators are of the opinion that Fowler is the candidate of a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hence the need to reject him.

Tinubu has been at loggerheads with Saraki since his emergence as the Senate president on June 9, 2015.

Tinubu’s preferred candidate for the Senate presidency was Senator Ahmad Lawan.

It was gathered that since the emergence of Saraki as the Senate president, he has never had the opportunity to discuss policy issues with President Muhammadu Buhari owing to the opposition to his emergence by they party, the All Progressives Congress.

The opposition is believed to be spearheaded by Saraki.
Saraki ran into trouble with Buhari for flouting the APC’s stand on the emergence of principal officers in the Senate.

Some senators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, believe that Fowler’s rejection will be an avenue to do a sort of pay back for Tinubu for all his machinations against the Senate.

One of the senators, who is loyal to Saraki, said: “This is payback time for Asiwaju for all his machinations against the Senate since he could not get his candidate to become Senate president.

“This is an opportunity to force Tinubu to the table and mend bridges or break them further.”

Many of the senators close to Saraki are said to be getting ready to ensure they use the rejection of Fowler’s nomination as a clear signal that the crisis in the Senate has not been due to the protection of any party supremacy but the political interest of Tinubu.

The pro-Saraki senators are also angling to move against Fowler because they believe Tinubu is scheming to take control of the country’s finances in the Buhari administration without the President realising the game plan.

One of them, a senator from Delta State, said: “There must be a trade-off as we get to the period of ministerial nominations and confirmation hearings.

“What we do not like is this idea of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

“Those who need us for their own interests, different from the interest of President Buhari, are now making it look like we need them.

“They have continued to create enmity between the Senate and the Presidency.

“Now, they are playing a different game.”