The Presidency has dismissed as pretentious and imaginary, claims by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, that there is a government within the government that has seized the apparatus of the executive power.

The presidency challenged Saraki to back up his claim with concrete evidence by identifying those who constitute the so called ‘government within the government’.

Femi Adesina, the President’s Media Adviser in a statement on Monday said as far as the federal government is concerned, the Attorney General is the chief law officer of the country and it is within his constitutional power to determine who has infringed upon the law and who has not.

Adesina obviously referring to the Senate President added that “pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed a criminal act has been committed. But we leave the courts to judge,

“To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous. It is not in the character of our president.”

The senate president had released a statement in which he reiterated his innocence of the forgery charges brought against him and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu by the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Saraki said the charges represent a violation of the principle of separation of powers between the executive and the legislature as guaranteed in the constitution.

In his statement, the Senate president said he was going to “carry the cross” in order to protect the nation’s democracy and if it meant “losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.”