Buhari still angry over National Assembly crisis
Buhari
THERE are indications that the ongoing crisis in the National Assembly may have forced President Muhammadu Buhari to postpone the nomination of his ministers.
This is in addition to the fact that the government is yet to conclude work on the report of his transition committee, which will determine the number of ministers to be appointed.
A national leader of the party who spoke to The Guardian last night said the President is still livid with the crisis in the National Assembly, particularly the refusal of the APC lawmakers to adhere to the party directive on the candidates for the various offices in the Assembly.
He also dismissed today’s caucus meeting of the party, saying there was no meeting of such as being speculated. He added that a national executive council of the party is scheduled for Friday to look at ways of finding lasting solution to the problem.
The party leader who is angry at the present crisis in the party over the emergence of leaders of the National Assembly, said the President was not presently disposed to the leadership of the two chambers for aborting the latest directives of the party on the appointment of principal officers of the party in the two chambers.
The situation, it was gathered, may have accounted for the refusal of the President to play host to either the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara despite efforts made by them to meet with the President.
It was gathered that contrary to the belief that the President was neutral in who emerged as the Senate leader, he was actually rooting for the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan as the Senate President.
Buhari was said to have confided in some leaders of the party, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande and the governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari on his preference for Lawan.
It was gathered that the President’s preference for Lawan forced Tinubu to jettison his preference for former governor of Benue State, Mr. George Akume.
Besides this, The Guardian gathered that Tinubu was only carrying out the instruction of the President, who is not comfortable with Saraki and his ability to cooperate with the President in his fight against graft.
Essentially, the national leader said the contention of Tinubu has been that the country should follow the model of America where the minority becomes the leader of the two chambers immediately their party wins at the centre. This, he said, accounted for his decision to back Akume as Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Besides, he said, it is the stand of Tinubu that the North Central should be compensated for their support for Buhari, pointing out that this is the first time the middle belt would vote massively for a president.
But having been told of the President’s preference for Lawan, he dropped his support for Akume and asked him to be deputy Senate president.
He explained that despite the President’s preference for Lawan, the National Working Committee still believes that all the lawmakers angling for leadership positions in the two chambers go for popularity test among their colleagues which Lawan and Gbajabiamila won while Saraki and Dogara boycotted it, claiming that the outcome had been predetermined.
The party leader also explained why Lawan was not popular among his colleagues from the North East saying many of the leaders from the zone are looking forward for bigger appointments within the party which they think Lawan may scuttled if he won the Senate presidency.
For instance, Atiku wants to be the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party while the zone is also seeking to produce the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Already, three candidates are being propped for the SGF including a former occupant of the office in the past and a secretary to a state government in the North east.
On the efforts made to resolve the crisis, he said the party in the immediate is trying to ensure cohesiveness but noted that what matters most is how to ensure discipline within the rank and file of the party.
He pointed out that Buhari believes in party supremacy and has demonstrated this by insisting on the party’s position on the emergence of the leadership of the two chambers be followed.
Insisting that Buhari holds the ace in resolving the crisis, the leader said the crisis would not affect the performance of the President.
He pointed out that unknown to the public, the President has been working with the federal permanent secretaries and had been giving directives to them on state matters.
On the role of Tinubu in the crisis, he said some individuals have seen Tinubu as too powerful and were out to reduce his influence but added that their initial opposition to Lawan was due to the fact that they had thought he was Tinubu’s man
The party leader who claimed he was once asked by a sitting senator and former governor to tell Tinubu to back off his support for Lawan or face stiff hostility from the North.
He said, unknown to them, Tinubu was only carrying out the directive of the President, adding the main preoccupation of Tinubu is the success of the Buhari administration
On the role of certain leaders in the crisis, he said it is not true that former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun worked against the party.
He said an earlier meeting held by the defectors from PDP in the house of a former national chairman of the party, there was no unity among them as to how to grab the Senate presidency seat for the nPDP faction of APC.
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19 Comments
Party supremacy is good but it should not be lopsided. In the spirit of party supremacy, if APC must impose candidates on NASS, then APC must also impose ministerial list on PMB and likewise impose list of commissioners on APC state governors. If this is not the case, then APC should, please, allow NASS and Nigerians to be, and rather focus on governance.
1. Reduction or eradication of poverty
2. Education – stop cultism, sexual harassments & selling of grades in Universities
3. Stop power shortage
4. Stop unnecessary importation & promote exports
5. Stop fraudulent practices of bank CEOs
6. Ensure security of life and property.
The smartest Yoruba chap ever. Thumbs up
GEJ apologist, time will tell.Saraki will also fall. God bless Nigeria
Sometimes God promotes up to promote out!
A double minded person is Very unstable in all his ways. Think before you say. Buhari on the emergence of Saraki/Dogara said it was institutional he can work with anybody? How come party supremacy is showing up now and h is upset even when he has reassured the nation that there is no problem. A father who wants peace does not discriminate amongst his children especially showing your preferred child.
I am not convinced by this writeup. It is the same old lies from the APC. Who is this solomon from the north whose thoughts is fed us here as the only truth and nothing but the truth. The NASS has finished with their election for principal officers and the only thing APC can do is to strategize on how to move the country forward and not to plung us back into the dark days of godfatherism. Everybody should see the hand of God in this. Giving the executive yesmen in the NASS will only mean disaster for the nation. We should realize this is democracy with the principles of separation of powers. If the principal officers of the NASS becomes a stuge of the president what kind of fake change are we then talking about. We should stop being hypocritical if we hope to see any change for the better for Nigeria.
Brie, time will tell. It’s a matter of time and someone would run short of lies. ???
Look at the mess. It is about enthroning stooges as leaders against the wishes of the members. They were even treachrous to you, Buhari and have insulted you. They told a lie you called a meeting. Tell the nation you called for that meeting the same morning the election was supposed to go on.
The leadership of the APC needs to note that Nigerians have high expectations from them and hopefully they will do the right thing to move Nigeria forward.
As President Buhari had decided to govern with an anti-Corruption philosophy and
actionability, he should never work with the present kangaroo Senate President,
Vice President and leadership (s)elected by fraudulent procedure. Otherwise,
President Buhari will be condoning corruption from the onset and will undermine
his anti-corruption programme. President Buhari and/or the APC should suspend
Senator Saraki for the rest of his 4-year term, reset the Senate and House voting
majority at two-thirds, institute a court action against the kangaroo election of Saraki
and especially the non-majority election of Ekweremadu, for depriving at least 51 Senators their
right in Senate election participation. This should be done in the next 2 months
within which the New Senate would have been re-constituted.
Yoruba fool talking
The greatest Yoruba fool is renegrade Senator Saraki, the traitor of the century, whom you follow blindly.
Wen he was drumming support for Buhari he was a saint o, now all of a sudden becos he refused 2be bullied by the party he’s corrupt
Saraki never drummed support for Buhari, he was always a born treacherous traitor hacking out his own treasonable devices.
Which support?
GEJ worked with Tambuwa who defected to Apc, Now they should know how it is to work with minority
The principle of the three arms of our government is now being threathened by APC.
If the accepted principle of separation of powers and functions is to be maintained then this pettiness where we are told that the executive arm of our national government wants to interfere with the legislative arm is an approach froth with a lot of dangers.
Please, Nigerians want the three arms of government to remain separated, at least to keep the nuances that ‘checks and balances’ exist in all areas of our governance, even if that might not be 100% true.
These brazen attempts by APC to interfer with our NASS will surely, scuttle the basic requirement of separation of powers of our three arms of government and goes against the demands of modern democracy.
The leaders of our NASS and all free minded Nigerians must stand against any attempt to ridicule our NASS.
“He pointed out that unknown to the public, the President has been working with the federal permanent secretaries and had been giving directives to them on state matters”.
So basically the assumption is that the average Nigerian is clueless on how the civil service works? Wow!!
Too many chiefs and no indians! Everybody wants position because they see Tinubu as weak and easily usurped. I don’t know why these other nationalities in Nigeria do not see that a Yoruba man’s strength is in his know-how and his integrity and sense of fairness. We can’t all be scappy thugs fighting at the drop of a hat. Tinubu will learn from this to be a stronger leader and the fighters will learn that the intellectuals always win!
We will review and take appropriate action.