The All Progressives Congress (APC) took off the gloves and knocked Senator Bukola Saraki, with bare knuckle on Thursday, declaring him unfit to be President of the Senate.
But Saraki responded saying he cannot “descend into the gutter” with the APC.
The party fired first in a statement issued by Yekini Nabena, its acting National Publicity Secretary in Abuja.
It was the first reaction from the party, since Saraki addressed a press conference Wednesday posturing himself as a defender of democracy, against the backdrop of a reckless blockade of the National Assembly by the sacked director-general of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura.
Saraki heaped the blame on the executive, a claim debunked promptly by the sacking of Daura and condemnation of the action, by acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
The APC was obviously not impressed by Saraki’s grandstanding and declared that he should be put where he belonged.
“The Senate must do everything possible to put Saraki where he rightly belongs; the back seat.
“He is definitely not a fit and proper person to preside over the country’s upper and revered legislative house,”the statement said.
It noted that in every democratic country, the position of the Senate President was one of the highest political offices one could attain.
Such position the statement said, was reserved for the best of the best, experienced and exemplary politicians who by their character and conduct in public offices, the younger generation look up to as role models.
It added that in terms of exemplary personage, the reverse was the case in respect to Saraki.
According to the statement, Saraki has been “a dismal failure” and has been involved in one controversy or the other since he became the President of the Senate.
This, it noted included; budget padding, legislative rascality, and sabotage of matters of national interest, among other criminalities too numerous to mention.
“Having suffered under the 16-year misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Saraki will go down in our country’s history as the worst Senate President Nigeria has had the misfortune to have.
“Since his usurpation of the coveted seat, achieved through a wicked conspiracy with members of the opposition PDP, it has been from one controversy to another.
“The code of conduct trial for false declaration of assets; conspiracy with his deputy to fraudulently alter the rules of the Senate and links to the deadly armed robbers who wasted many lives in the Offa robbery attack.
“It is alleged that some of the robbery suspects were his political thugs used to rig elections; a common adage says: “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.
“One is of course not surprised as Saraki’s greed, selfishness, treachery, disregard for protocol and constituted authority is well-reported.
“In terms of treachery, Dr Saraki’s public humiliation of his late father and sister comes readily to mind; a traitor will always be a traitor, however the time and place,” the statement said.
Reacting, in his response issued by Yusuph Olaniyonu, his spokesman, Saraki said: “We can’t descend into the gutter with these characters”.
He added that the APC had not recovered from Tuesday’s attempt to subvert democracy insisting that he will only be removed by two-third members of the Senate.