JUST IN: Saraki, Dogara missing in action, absent at Independence Day parade

macfranc007 October 01, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Onyirioha Nnamdi

- Two top public persons have been reported absent at the Eagle Square in Abuja as the nation celebrates its 58th Independence anniversary

- Bukola Saraki, the Senate president and Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives are yet to be seen at the event

- The spokesman to Dogara, Yusuph Olaniyonu, speaking with newsmen said that he is unaware if his boss was invited to the ceremony

Bukola Saraki, the Senate president and Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, are both absent at Eagle Square Abuja where the nation’s 58th Independence anniversary is being celebrated by dignitaries and many elder state men.

Those present at the parade are President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, Walter Onnoghen, the chief justice of Nigeria, and former head of state and Yakubu Gowon, among many other top public figures, Premium Times reports.

The all-important national ceremony will witness a parade of the nation’s military officials and a photo exhibition showing Nigerian history and an independence day dinner.

Whereas efforts to speak with Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki's spokesperson, proved unsuccessful, the spokesperson of Dogara, Turaki Hassan, said he has no idea if his boss was invited to the event or why he is not attending.

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Hassan, speaking with newsmen, said: “Actually, I am out of Abuja and I don’t know what is happening there.”

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that Saraki had faulted the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the Osun governorship election results were inconclusive.

Saraki, in a statement signed by him, and sent to NAIJ.com, expressed dismay over the decision by INEC to declare as "inconclusive" an election in which a candidate won the highest number of votes and fulfilled the condition for geographical spread.

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