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Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has explained his absence at the Independence day parade which held on Monday at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
Although two former Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar, alongside Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, were among the dignitaries that witnessed the parade with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and Saraki were absent.
It would be recalled that both men were elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in 2015, but recently dumped the ruling party for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Senate President is one of the presidential aspirants on the PDP platform, while Dogara has also picked the PDP House of Representatives nomination form.
Explaining why he was absent at the ceremony, Saraki, said he was out of Abuja attending to other important political assignments as an aspirant to clinch the presidential ticket of PDP, ahead of its primaries, weekend.
He also said in his home state, Kwara, the gubernatorial primary election took place and required his presence.
Special Adviser to Saraki on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, who spoke on his behalf, said his principal was unavoidably absent at the parade ground because he would also meet with Kogi delegates to the national convention of the PDP.
“The Senate President and a frontline presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP is currently not in Abuja, he is at the moment in his home state, Kwara.
‘’The governorship primary is holding today (yesterday) in Kwara and he must be present and after that, he will be holding a meeting with Kogi State delegates to the PDP National Convention. These are two very important assignments that require his attention.”
