In fear of mega party, Saraki, Oyegun meet to mend fences

Apparently in recognition that divided, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), may be a shadow of itself in 2019 when Nigeria holds another general elections, the party leadership has begun the process of reconciliation to end the persistent crises rocking it.

There are strong beliefs in some quarters that the move to unite APC members may not be unconnected with the rumours of a mega party, and APC knows what a mega party could do, as it was itself a product of such.

To find lasting peace, the Senate President Bukola Saraki led some principal officers of the Senate to a crucial meeting with the national leadership of the ruling APC, led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the National Secretariat of the party Abuja on Wednesday.

This will be the first time, since the emergence of Saraki as Senate President, that he will have such consultations with the party’s national leadership.

The party leadership which did not hide its disaffection over Saraki’s emergence as Senate President is believed to have a hand Saraki’s travails Saraki since his assuming that position.

This was made worse by the thinking of some that he betrayed the party by conspiring with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to help it occupy the seat of Deputy Senate President.

In recent times, some of the perceived moves by the APC to remove Saraki have been halted, like his alleged case of forgery of the Senate Standing Rule.

Already, some analysts believe that it’s only a matter of time before his much celebrated case with the Code of Conduct Tribunal, becomes a forgotten thing.

The Senate President was accompanied to the Wednesday meeting by Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, his deputy, Bala Ibn Na’Allah and the Whip, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, which lasted for over two and a half hours.

Saraki and Odigie-Oyegun who spoke to newsmen after the meeting admitted the party made wrong steps that snowballed to its continued crisis, but assured that the process of getting the issues resolved had begun with the meeting.

Read also: 2019: Buhari’s popularity rating takes a dip –Survey

“We told ourselves the hard truth, but at the end of the day we accepted that certain things were not done but we agreed to move forward, work closely with the party for the interest of building APC because of Nigerians that believe in us. We need to work closely together and we are hopeful that the new chapter is being opened today,” Saraki stated.

In his response also, Odigie-Oyegun said, “There is an end in sight. We have started the process, but there are issues to be resolved. We accept that things have gone wrong and we are determined to right those wrongs. It has been a very rewarding meeting.

“As far as the party is concerned, we commend the Senate and the National Assembly for the way they worked so far with the executive. We are determined to address some of the issues that still exist, the relationship between the National Assembly and the executive.

“We want to assure the public that they will see results that will lift their spirit in the next few weeks and months.”

He however did not argue that the meeting was coming late, as he said that it was better late than never.

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