Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has dismissed insinuations that he betrayed the All Progressives Congress (APC) by contesting for the Senate Presidency on Tuesday, June 9.
Senator Ahmad Lawan had emerged as the party’s candidate after a straw poll held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja on Saturday, June 6.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja at the weekend, the Senate president revealed how the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the party’s governors had earlier zoned the position to the North-Central.
He also disclosed how party elders truncated the zoning process with another declaration that the position would no longer be zoned to any region.
His words: “At no time and I want anybody to contradict me, did the party say it had zoned the issue of this position to a particular zone.
“After the general elections, the party held a meeting at the caucus level and at the caucus level, there was a working document that the party presented which showed that it had zoned the Senate president to the North-Central but at the meeting, it objected that, ‘no, the party needed to go back and work on this paper’.
“We waited for the party and when there was no follow-up then, we heard the rumour that, maybe, the party was thinking, mind you, it was a rumour, that it might consider not holding on to that proposal from the NWC of North-Central taking the Senate President position and that, it might go to the North-East.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..
“Then, the governor’s got involved; the governors too had their own meeting and they recommended North-Central. All we waited for was for the party to announce North-Central and then, all of a sudden, the leaders of the party came and said there was no zoning.
“Categorically, leaders of the party said there was no zoning. So, when you look at these two issues, how do you see it? I can tell you categorically that if the party had said it had zoned this position to the North-East, I, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, would never have contested this issue.
“But, the party said, ‘no zoning.’ Then, the party even said anybody from the two zones could even contest.”
Saraki also revealed that he had met severally with his main rival, Senator Lawan for reconciliatory talks, among other issues.
“I had the opportunity to sit down with Senator Lawan as part of my reconciliatory efforts and that is why some of the positive things that have come out of those efforts are not in the public domain.
“I am confident that this matter would blow over because we are making efforts to engage ourselves. Before we met in Room 301 on Tuesday, June 23, these two groups had never sat down together in a room before. But, all of us sat down and even before then, Senator Lawan and myself had not sat down.
“But few days before that, we sat down, one on one, and we engaged and discussed. I did ask him to reach out to his members in the North-East and ‘let you guys come together and start to engage.’
“Even beyond the issue of leadership, they must work together as a caucus because there would be many issues that would be sent to those caucuses to go and discuss and there must be unity there.
“I must say that on his own part, too, efforts are being made…”
The Senate president, who described the crisis in the party ‘as normal’, noted that the same crisis engulfed the party after the presidential primaries but after some time, the healing process ensured that all stakeholders were carried along.
“To me, two weeks is short in a healing process,” Saraki said.
Click photo to download; but you lied to me by Expdona aka finish gravity
Expdonaloaded blog;Click the photo to download aboki wey d suya by Expdona aka finish gravity
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