APC writes Saraki, Dogara on N’Assembly leadership crisis

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Tuesday wrote the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

The chairman, in separate letters to Saraki and Dogara, presented the party’s position on the principal officers of the Senate and the House.

In the letter to Dogara, the party presented, Femi Gbajabiamila (South-West) as the House Leader; Ado Doguwa (North-West) as deputy leader; Mohammed Monguno (North-East) as chief whip; and Pally Iriiase as deputy chief whip.

Senator Ahmed Lawan (North-East) was picked as Majority Leader; Prof. Sola Adeyeye (South-West) as chief whip; George Akume (North-Central) as deputy Majority Leader and Abu Ibrahim (North-West) as deputy chief whip.

Meanwhile, eight APC governors on Tuesday met behind closed doors with Odigie-Oyegun, in a bid to resolve the impasse in the National Assembly.

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Legislators on the party’s platform in the National Assembly have been unable to agree on the choice of persons to occupy the positions of Senate Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Senate Majority Whip and Deputy Majority Whip.

These positions are normally the exclusive preserve of the majority party.

It was learnt that Odigie-Oyegun was presiding over a meeting of the party’s National Working Committee when the governors came into the party’s National Secretariat and asked to meet with him in his office.

The governors, who met with the chairman are Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Senator Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa).

Details of what transpired behind closed doors were sketchy as of the time of filing this report but it was learnt that the governors asked the chairman to step up and take charge of the situation in the National Assembly before it consumes the party.

A party leader privy to the meeting said, “The chairman was told to restore sanity into the party. He was told to ensure that those who stood with the party during the recent elections into leadership positions in the National Assembly were not disenfranchised.

“I believe it was based on this that the party has written an official letter to the Senate President and the Speaker on the need for them to respect the party by making sure that Lawan and Gbajabiamila are treated fairly. By this, the party means that the two should be given the positions of Majority Leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.”

There were rumours that the governors met with the chairman to demand for his resignation.

When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said, “I am not privy to what the governors came to discuss with the national chairman in his office but I can assure you they did not come to ask him to resign.”

None of the governors responded to inquiries from journalists as they filed out of the party chairman’s office into their vehicles.

After the meeting with governors, the APC national chairman also met with Lawan and George Akume.