NASS crisis: APC Govs meet with Buhari, urge APC Senators to respect the wishes of the party
Following the lingering crises in the National Assembly over the appointment of principal officers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, APC Governors late Tuesday night had a closed door meeting with Pres. Buhari to discuss on ways to resolve the matter. At the end of the meeting, the Governors called on APC members in the National Assembly to respect the wishes of the party regarding appointment of principal officers.
Speaking with newsmen at the end of the meeting, Edo state governor Adams Oshiomole, called on the APC Senators to respect the wishes of the party and appoint Senators whose names have been forwarded by the party to occupy principal offices in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
"Senators should adopt the position of the party because we all got elected on the platform of the party. We are not just a collection of individuals. We are a political party and when the party has spoken, we must listen. otherwise if it was a game of individuals like golf, then individuals can go their way. I think it is very clear at this point that the party has the responsibility to keep the system going. so we as progressive governors have listened to the president, we have discussed extensively and we are clear that the party position should be supported by the Senators. This is the way it should be and we should start with a note of working closely. We as governors we listen to the party so we expect our senators to listen to the party"he said
Also speaking, Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha said
"We the APC governors, we met with our president. Worried by what is happening at the National Assembly, we felt we should rub minds with the President and also to commend him on steps he is taking so far to address the issue of the economy of the nation which is literally in shamble and the meeting we had with Mr President is more reassuring that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But with all this achievements and progress we are making, we are worried by the pockets of disagreements going on in the National assembly. and we resolved that we came from a party and our party's views should be respected. and we feel that there is room for us to invite our senators and look more into the matter and see how we can all make peace. We believe our party that we all came from should be respected"he said
Meanwhile during yesterday's plenary session, APC Senators loyal to Senator Bukola worked against him reading a letter sent by the leadership of APC on its choices of Senators to fill principal offices in the Senate. The Senators argued that the constitution states that the affairs of the Senate House is to be handled by the Senate members and not by any external body or force.
APC Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun had in a letter sent to Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Yahkubu Dogara forwarded the names of those the party wishes to occupy principal offices in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Copies of the letters below...