President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has declared that the alleged forgery case instituted against the four principal officers of the National Assembly is a cross which he is prepared to carry.

Saraki who said this in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, in his reaction to the ongoing trial which commenced on Monday, added that “if yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent in undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal Government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.”

He further admitted that the latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve. He said: “The suit filed on behalf of the Federal Government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.”

Saraki boasted that “both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me.”

Quoting Martin Luther King Junior, “the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy,” Saraki assured that he would remain true and committed to the responsibilities that his citizenship and office have imposed on him.

He added that “without doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate.”

•Photo shows Saraki.