‘Withdraw Itse Sagay’s SAN title’ – Lagos PDP tells LPPC, others

POLITICS

‘Withdraw Itse Sagay’s SAN title’ – Lagos PDP tells LPPC, others

 

The Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State has charged the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) and the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association and the courts to withdraw all the privileges that Prof Itse Sagay enjoys as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The party, in a statement yesterday by its state Publicity Secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately replace Sagay as the Chairman of the committee.

According to the Lagos PDP, the security agencies must arrest, interrogate and prosecute Sagay for his comments allegedly capable of provoking civil unrests in the country.

Sagay had faulted Supreme Court’s rulings, which upheld the PDP as the winner of the 2019 general elections in Rivers and Zamfara states, and barred the All Progressives Congress from contesting offices. 

But Gani said, “Prof Sagay exposed his hatred for the PDP when he described the Supreme Court judgment by positing that ‘in the next four years, Zamfara State will be governed by a party and politicians rejected by the electorate.’

“To the PDP, these words and stance are inciting and unbecoming of a senior lawyer and must be taken seriously as professional misconduct within the contemplation of Section 24(1)(a) and (b) of the rules of professional conduct.

“To us as a party in Lagos State and from where most of these false activists speak, Prof Sagay is no more a fit and proper personality to head a presidential advisory committee against corruption. We charge the LPPC, the LPDC, the NBA and the courts to withdraw all privileges Prof Itse Sagay enjoys as a SAN.”

Gani said Sagay had showed enough obvious partisanship and support for the APC, adding that one needed not wonder why all the APC chieftains were “saints” before the Sagay-led PACAC.

He said, “With Sagay as an adviser, the advised is at his own risk. It is very laughable that Sagay attempts to be an appellate court to the Supreme Court.”

Earlier, the PDP had accused the PACAC chairman of instigating anarchy and rebellion against constitutional democratic order and reule of law.

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Saraki Vs EFCC: PACAC chairman, Itse Sagay reveals why anti-graft agency is investigating Senate President

NEWS

Saraki Vs EFCC: PACAC chairman, Itse Sagay reveals why anti-graft agency is investigating Senate President

 

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Itse Sagay, has reacted to the probe of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Sagay explained that the anti-graft agency was investigating Saraki for alleged acquisition of properties by fraudulent means and not false declaration of assets, which he had been cleared by the courts.

EFCC had last week sealed off some properties belonging to Saraki located in Ikoyi, Lagos State while investigating the period he was governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011.

The Senate President, however, described the action of the anti-graft agency as a witch-hunt, claiming that the property in question had been investigated by the commission several times in the past.

However, Sagay, while speaking with Independent said: “The investigation is not over. The earlier one was the issue of false declaration of assets. What they are doing now is acquiring properties by fraudulent means and siphoning money from the state.

“So, it is a totally different charge. Although, he was cleared up to the Supreme Court on the issue of declaration of false assets, this one is different.

“That the court declared that a case is not proved does not mean that there is no guilt. So, this is a second approach, which permits the agency to actually have the property forfeited without proving guilt.

“All he has to do is to go through the first process of temporary forfeiture and then, the owner of the property (in this case, Saraki) will be invited by the court through an order to come and justify how he acquired the property, usually by affidavit.

“So, the two parties will come and if he cannot establish satisfactorily to the court that he earned the money by which he acquired the property, then he will lose it to the Federal Government.”

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Sagay Reacts To Senator Shehu's Disclosure Of Senators Take Home

BREAKING NEWS

Sagay Reacts To Senator Shehu's Disclosure Of Senators Take Home

 

Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Itse Sagay, has reacted to the disclosureof lawmakers’ take home pay by Senator Shehu Sani.

Sani representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, had revealed that each Senator gets N13.5 million as running cost monthly.

Sagay in agreement with Sani’s revelation, said the lawmaker had vindicated him on his criticism of the lawmakers.

Sagay told Punch: “I’ve always said they earn too much. This figure by Sanni does not include constituency allowances, which is in billions of naira.

“We still have budget padding from which millions are made by them. By the time you put all that together, you can see that these people are collecting a huge chunk of the Nigerian budget.”

Also speaking, Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, said Sani must be commended for his courage.

Ogunye said, “What Senator Shehu Sani said has confirmed the long-held fears of Nigerians that Nigerian legislators, both at the state and national levels, have been short-changing Nigerians.

“They are not expected to use that elevated position to serve their own interest at the expense of public interest. They are not expected to allow their self-consideration to override their commitment to abiding by the law.”

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