Ninth Assembly: APC moves to check Saraki, Dogara’s influence

The All Progressives Congress has put in place strategies to
ensure that the President of the Senate, Bulola Saraki; and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, do not
influence the election of presiding officers for the Ninth National
Assembly, The PUNCH reports.

Our correspondent gathered that the national leadership of the
party and the preferred candidates for the positions of presiding
officers had arranged a series of meetings with members-elect to
douse apprehension.

It was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari had held Iftar
(dinner for breaking of fasting) with members-elect as part of the
plans.

An APC chieftain told our correspondent that the party would
work hard to thwart whatever plans Saraki and Dogara had against
the emergence of its anointed candidates.

The PUNCH had reported that the APC leadership had endorsed
Senators Ahmed Lawan and Ovie Omo-Agege as the next President of
the Senate and Deputy Senate President, respectively.

It also reported that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila and Ahmed Wase, had
been anointed as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively for the
House of Representatives.

But a member of the National Working Committee of the APC said
party leaders were aware of counter-moves by Dogara to frustrate
the agenda of the ruling party.

He said, “We are aware of clandestine meetings he had been
having with some members of the House of Representatives against
the wish of the APC.

“We are not surprised because he is no longer our member; but we
are watching keenly the activities of our members who had been
meeting with him.

“The agenda is for the party and everybody to respect party
supremacy.”

Another chieftain of the party, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the party, was also monitoring developments in the
Senate as some senators in the opposition PDP had stepped up their
game to cause disaffection among the APC members, with Saraki at
the background.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the
party was not threatened by the influence of Saraki and Dogara.

He said, “I will advise we stop talking about Dr Saraki as far
as the Ninth National Assembly is concerned.

“By the time President Muhammadu Buhari will be inaugurating the
Ninth National Assembly, Saraki would have become a former member.
So, he is to us irrelevant to this discussion.

“Dogara would be a floor member and of the opposition party, so
he has no role to play in deciding who rules for the majority.”

Saraki and Dogara had emerged in 2015 as President of the Senate
and Speaker against the wish of the APC, which they then
belonged.

Issa-Onilu, however, expressed confidence that the situation
would be different this time.

He said, “What happened in 2015 was a coup against the people of
this country. It was a very unpatriotic action. Our President told
them (members-elect) that much when they had Iftar (breaking of
fasting) with him.

“I can assure you that the party has done enough to ensure that
those that ran on our platform are loyal members who share in the
vision of the party, who understand that we have a mandate to save
this country from the PDP and their nefarious collaborators.

“They also understand that it would be a betrayal of the
President, the party, and indeed, majority of electorate to work
for those who the people rejected at the polls.”

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