ExpdonaLoaded.blogspot.com (+2348097205188): Expdonaloaded News; N/Assembly crisis: All interests in APC must shift ground, say Oyegun, Atiku

Friday 3 July 2015

Expdonaloaded News; N/Assembly crisis: All interests in APC must shift ground, say Oyegun, Atiku

Ahead of today’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday urged all the interests in the leadership crisis rocking the National Assembly to compromise for the good of the party and the nation. Similarly, former Vice President and chieftain of APC, Atiku Abubakar admonished leaders of the party to shift from extreme positions to a centrist one in the interest of democracy, the party, the new administration and the country at large.
The APC NEC meeting, the first since the party’s victory in the March 28 presidential election, will be held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja. A statement by Atiku’s media office in Abuja quoted the former vice president as calling for the concentration of positive energies on building unity, cohesion and harmony among party leaders and other stakeholders. “We can resolve our differences when our leaders individually and collectively shift ground from extreme positions and move to the centre in the interest of our party and our country,” the statement said. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Oyegun warned that the conflict rocking the party could not be resolved if the combatants continued to hold firmly to their positions. He also spoke on the party’s reconciliation efforts. The chairman declared: “For me, I think that there is no other way to resolve the conflict other than for all of us to accept compromise. Each one of us will lose face and that is the only way forward.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..” For some weeks, the ruling APC has been rocked by crisis following the controversial emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate president and Yakubu Dogara as speaker, House of Representatives, contrary to the choice of some leaders of the party. Both Saraki and Dogara had on June 9 defied the directive of the party by contesting the Senate presidency and the speakership of the House of Representatives. The APC had preferred Senator Hamad Lawan as Senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as speaker. The situation got worse when both Saraki and Dogara declined to abide by the directives of the party on those to be appointed principal officers of the two chambers. In a letter to Saraki, APC named Lawan as its choice for the position of Senate majority leader; Prof. Sola Adeyeye as the chief whip; George Akume as deputy majority leader; and Abu Ibrahim as deputy chief whip. Dogara was also directed to name Gbajabiamila as the majority leader of the House of Representatives; Ado Doguwa as the deputy leader; M.T. Monguno as the chief whip and Pally Iriase as the deputy chief whip. Rather than follow the party’s directive, Saraki read letters from zonal caucuses of the APC, which favoured Senator Ali Ndume from the North-East as Senate majority leader, Bala Na’Allah (North-West) as the deputy majority leader, Francis Alimikhena (South-South) as the deputy chief whip. In the House of Representatives, the refusal of Dogara to read the party’s letter threw the lower chamber into commotion. Today’s NEC meeting, according to sources, is meant to bring all the interest groups together to amicably resolve the lingering crisis.