Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that his prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal is a price he is paying for opposing the ambition of some persons to become the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Apparently referring to a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, Saraki, in a Candid Response To Dele Momodu said he opposed the choice because it was a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Abusidiqu recall that Tinubu had indicated interest in becoming the running mate to Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, an interest we later gathered was a scheme to outsmart Amaechi, Oshiomhole and other party faithfuls who were also eyeing the VP slot.

He denied that he fell out with his party for striking a deal with the PDP to win the senate presidency in June 2015 as alleged by celebrity journalist and Ovation publisher, Dele Momodu.

The senate president, who is currently facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on allegations of false declaration of assets, said: “Most people talk about the Senate Presidency position, but this was not my only offence.

“I have also been accused of helping to frustrate some people’s opportunity to emerge as President Muhammadu  Buhari’s running mate. But I have no problem with anybody.”

Saraki, also a Muslim, said it was not going to be politically smart to field an all-Muslim ticket.

“My concern was that it would not be politically smart of us to run with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. I doubt if we would have won the election if we had done this, especially after the PDP had successfully framed us a Muslim party. I felt we were no longer in 1993,” he said.

“Perhaps, more than ever before, Nigerians are more sensitive to issues of religious balancing. This… was my original sin. What they say to themselves, among other things, was that if he could conspire against our ambition, then he must not realize his own ambition as well.

“For me however, I have no regrets about this. I only stood for what I believed was in the best interest of the party and in the best interest of Nigeria.”