The leadership of the Senate has stated that Senators were capable of nipping in the bud, the perceived crisis presently rocking the upper Chambers and by extension, the National assembly if they were left on their own by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The senate said that if there is no external influence, settlement of the disagreement among the members would be very easy, just as it stressed that there were no factions within the Senators on the platform of the ruling APC, while claiming that what obtains at the moment following last week’s emergence of some principal officers, was mere disagreement among the Senators.
Speaking with Journalists in Abuja, Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, noted that senators in both groups, the Senate Unity Forum, SUF, which was loyal to Senator Ahmed Lawan and Like Minds Senators loyal to Senate President Bukola Saraki believe in the aspirations of Nigerians.
He said, “Let me say that we do not have a crisis in the Senate, what we have are disagreements between our colleagues senators on how certain things should be done.
“When you have a crisis then you are talking about reconciliation but when you have a disagreement it is not about reconciliation it is about sorting out the matter based on what all of us believe in.
The happy thing about it is that there is not a single senator in both groups who does not believe in the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian as it relates to the Senate. So it is going to be a very simple issue to settle provided the external influence cease for the time being.”
Na’Allah, who also seized the occasion to correct an impression that Senator Ahmad Lawan, was leading a group of APC senators in the red chamber, said, “I want to correct an impression that there is a faction of the APC senators led by Senator Ahmad Lawan. We have the Senate Unity Forum, of which I am a member and led by Senator Barnabas Gemade.
“No matter unfairness to Senator Gemade, he stands as one of the leaders in this country and I do not want to believe that he needs even the inkling of any other person to get involved in reconciling the Senate.
“We do not have a crisis in the senate. What we have is disagreement within our colleagues on how certain things should be done. It is when we have crisis that we will be talking about reconciliation but when we have a disagreement, we will sort out matter based on what all of us believe in.”
Speaking on the issues raised by former Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, that the emergence of the principal officers was a conspiracy of the North against the South West, Na’Allah said Chief Akande may have been misquoted.
“Chief Bisi Akande is a highly respected senior member of this country and I am not so sure he had not been misquoted on that issue. Even where it exists, I am absolutely sure that, that it cannot be the correct statement of the situation.
“The North holds every section of this country high, we detest the idea of even labeling us as North because we have passed that stage with the current development in our country.
“We are a united country whether we like it or not with some few interests being defined at different levels of our governance but as far as Nigeria is concerned, I don’t want to believe that there is any conspiracy."
Speaking further, Na’Allah who disclosed that he dumped the SUF immediately the chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie Oyegun issued a statement that the APC leadership had recognised Saraki as the senate president, said, “You remember that the National Chairman of the APC issued a statement that the party has recognized the presidency of Senator Bukola Saraki. With that statement, as a loyal party man, what do you expect me to do? That is why I am towing the party line.”
