There were indications on Sunday that the All Progressives
Congress leaders have met over the crisis between the Presidency
and the Senate on the appointment of the acting Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu.
The PUNCH not Thenigerialawyer gathered that the party had
intervened in the crisis and would declare its position before the
end of this week.
A Presidency official, who confided in one of our
correspondents, said that those who attended the meeting, which was
held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, included the
National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; the Deputy National
Chairman, North; Senator Lawal Shuaibu; the National Secretary, Mai
Mala Buni; the National Treasurer, Mohammed Gwagwaruwa; and the
National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso.
The source, who did not give the details of the meeting, stated,
“Our party leaders have met with all the gladiators. I met on
Friday with some of the party leaders who attended the meeting. I
guess they will be speaking on the outcome soon.”
The Presidency source also disclosed that it was the Senate
President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who contacted the acting President,
Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, after the Senate passed the latest
resolution on Magu.
According to the Presidency official, Saraki expressed his
readiness to attend any fence-mending meeting if there was any.
“To be fair to the Senate President, he was the one who
contacted the acting President shortly after their resolution – to
express his willingness to attend any meeting organised to find a
lasting solution to the matter and he attended,” the source
said.
But a National Assembly source said the meeting between the
acting President and the Senate President on Thursday night was at
the instance of Osinbajo.
The source said the Senate’s resolution on Tuesday compelled
Osinbajo to invite Saraki to a meeting.
The source said, “A meeting took place between Saraki and
Osinbajo. The acting President actually reached out to the Senate
President after the lawmakers sent a strong signal to the
Presidency.
“The acting President seems to have realised the implication of
what he said. He was literally begging at the meeting that nobody
should heat up the polity; that what he said was only a reaction to
what Mr. Femi Falana said. Also, note that if the acting President
did not want to see Saraki, the Senate President would not have
gone there.”
It was learnt that the party leaders were also using ‘back
channels’ to reach out to the feuding party members.
A top ranking APC official, who pleaded anonymity in order not
to escalate tension, noted that the issue at hand had not yet
reached a point where the party would intervene but said it may
soon convene a meeting to be jointly attended by the two arms of
government.
The source said, “We are intervening to prevent things from
getting out of hand. We are using back channels to reach out to the
executive and the members of the legislature.
“We don’t want individuals to take advantage of the situation to
advance their personal agenda. Egos are bruised and we must do
everything to de-escalate tension.
“For now, we are reaching out to both parties to get them to
avoid making public statements capable of exacerbating the
situation; we will take it up from there.”
The source further explained that the decision of the party’s
National Working Committee to meet with its governors, at least,
once a month had greatly improved relations.
He said the same approach was being adopted to ensure that the
party, the executive and the legislature were on the same page on
national issues.
When asked if the party’s leaders met with the executive and the
legislature over the weekend, the APC National Publicity Secretary,
Bolaji Abdullahi, in response to a text message on Sunday said
‘no’.
But a presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, said,
“Consultations are still at infancy. There is really nothing to
tell at the moment.”
Abdullahi told The PUNCH on Saturday that contrary to
insinuations in some quarters, there was no rift between the
executive and the legislative arms of government.
The spokesman, in a telephone interview in Abuja, on Saturday,
that what appeared to be a disagreement between the two arms of
government presented the nation with an opportunity to strengthen
democracy.
Abdullahi said, “There is no face-off. For me, I would like to
look at the positive side and the positive side is that the more of
this type of situation we have, the more the opportunity we have to
test our constitution.”
Osinbajo had, in an interview in April ruled out the possibility
of President Muhammadu Buhari replacing Magu, whose nomination was
rejected by the Senate twice.
He had said he aligned himself with the argument of a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, that Senate confirmation was
not needed for the EFCC chairman based on the provisions of Section
171 of the constitution.
Osinbajo’s statement drew the ire of Senators, who on Tuesday,
threatened to withhold all requests for confirmation into executive
positions from the Presidency.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Senior Special Assistant to
the acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, on
the telephone did not yield positive result as of the time of
filing this report on Saturday.
Attempts to get reactions from some of those said to have
attended the meeting were futile. Calls to the mobile telephone
number of Odigie-Oyegun were neither picked nor returned.
He had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the
subject as of the time of filing this report.
Similar calls to the party’s national organising secretary were
also not picked nor returned.
A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited
as at the time of filing this report.
Calls and text messages sent to the party’s deputy national
chairman (North) and the party’s national secretary were not
responded to.
Punch
There were indications on Sunday that the All Progressives
Congress leaders have met over the crisis between the Presidency
and the Senate on the appointment of the acting Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu.
The PUNCH not Thenigerialawyer gathered that the party had
intervened in the crisis and would declare its position before the
end of this week.
A Presidency official, who confided in one of our
correspondents, said that those who attended the meeting, which was
held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, included the
National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; the Deputy National
Chairman, North; Senator Lawal Shuaibu; the National Secretary, Mai
Mala Buni; the National Treasurer, Mohammed Gwagwaruwa; and the
National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso.
The source, who did not give the details of the meeting, stated,
“Our party leaders have met with all the gladiators. I met on
Friday with some of the party leaders who attended the meeting. I
guess they will be speaking on the outcome soon.”
The Presidency source also disclosed that it was the Senate
President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who contacted the acting President,
Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, after the Senate passed the latest
resolution on Magu.
According to the Presidency official, Saraki expressed his
readiness to attend any fence-mending meeting if there was any.
“To be fair to the Senate President, he was the one who
contacted the acting President shortly after their resolution – to
express his willingness to attend any meeting organised to find a
lasting solution to the matter and he attended,” the source
said.
But a National Assembly source said the meeting between the
acting President and the Senate President on Thursday night was at
the instance of Osinbajo.
The source said the Senate’s resolution on Tuesday compelled
Osinbajo to invite Saraki to a meeting.
The source said, “A meeting took place between Saraki and
Osinbajo. The acting President actually reached out to the Senate
President after the lawmakers sent a strong signal to the
Presidency.
“The acting President seems to have realised the implication of
what he said. He was literally begging at the meeting that nobody
should heat up the polity; that what he said was only a reaction to
what Mr. Femi Falana said. Also, note that if the acting President
did not want to see Saraki, the Senate President would not have
gone there.”
It was learnt that the party leaders were also using ‘back
channels’ to reach out to the feuding party members.
A top ranking APC official, who pleaded anonymity in order not
to escalate tension, noted that the issue at hand had not yet
reached a point where the party would intervene but said it may
soon convene a meeting to be jointly attended by the two arms of
government.
The source said, “We are intervening to prevent things from
getting out of hand. We are using back channels to reach out to the
executive and the members of the legislature.
“We don’t want individuals to take advantage of the situation to
advance their personal agenda. Egos are bruised and we must do
everything to de-escalate tension.
“For now, we are reaching out to both parties to get them to
avoid making public statements capable of exacerbating the
situation; we will take it up from there.”
The source further explained that the decision of the party’s
National Working Committee to meet with its governors, at least,
once a month had greatly improved relations.
He said the same approach was being adopted to ensure that the
party, the executive and the legislature were on the same page on
national issues.
When asked if the party’s leaders met with the executive and the
legislature over the weekend, the APC National Publicity Secretary,
Bolaji Abdullahi, in response to a text message on Sunday said
‘no’.
But a presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, said,
“Consultations are still at infancy. There is really nothing to
tell at the moment.”
Abdullahi told The PUNCH on Saturday that contrary to
insinuations in some quarters, there was no rift between the
executive and the legislative arms of government.
The spokesman, in a telephone interview in Abuja, on Saturday,
that what appeared to be a disagreement between the two arms of
government presented the nation with an opportunity to strengthen
democracy.
Abdullahi said, “There is no face-off. For me, I would like to
look at the positive side and the positive side is that the more of
this type of situation we have, the more the opportunity we have to
test our constitution.”
Osinbajo had, in an interview in April ruled out the possibility
of President Muhammadu Buhari replacing Magu, whose nomination was
rejected by the Senate twice.
He had said he aligned himself with the argument of a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, that Senate confirmation was
not needed for the EFCC chairman based on the provisions of Section
171 of the constitution.
Osinbajo’s statement drew the ire of Senators, who on Tuesday,
threatened to withhold all requests for confirmation into executive
positions from the Presidency.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Senior Special Assistant to
the acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, on
the telephone did not yield positive result as of the time of
filing this report on Saturday.
Attempts to get reactions from some of those said to have
attended the meeting were futile. Calls to the mobile telephone
number of Odigie-Oyegun were neither picked nor returned.
He had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the
subject as of the time of filing this report.
Similar calls to the party’s national organising secretary were
also not picked nor returned.
A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited
as at the time of filing this report.
Calls and text messages sent to the party’s deputy national
chairman (North) and the party’s national secretary were not
responded to.
Punch
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