10th Senate: APC govs disagree with Adamu over principal officers

There were seemly disagreement between the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu and the governors of the party on Tuesday, over his (Adamu) utterance on the newly appointed principal officers of the National Assembly.

CAPITAL POST earlier reported that the Chairman in a meeting with members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) led by its Chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma told the governors that the National Working Committee (NWC) was not a party to the principal officers announced by the presiding officers of the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The Party Chairman had said
“I am just hearing as a rumour now from the online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives.

“The national headquarters of the party and the NWC has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of offices.

“And until we formally resolve and communicate with them in writing which is the norm and practice, it is not our intention to break away from traditions. So whatever announcement is done either the President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, is not from this secretariat”.

But at the closed-door meeting with the governors, it was gathered that the chairman’s position did not go down well with the state chief executives, most of whom were caught aback by what most of the governors called an “unwarranted” outburst of the chairman.

A source at the meeting said efforts by the PGF Chairman to douse the import of chairman failed as the governor of Niger State, Umar Mohammed Bago cautioned the chairman of dissociating the NWC from the emergence of the principal officers of the National Assembly.

Bago was quoted to have said that the emergence and zoning of positions of the principal officers were reached after wide consultations with critical stakeholders of the party, including the NWC and wondered why the Chairman will back out after the officers have been announced on the floor of the National Assembly.

He further said that the Presidency was equally informed adding that all critical stakeholders were adequately carried along before the zoning was reached.

In the same vein, the governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi expressed surprise at the chairman’s dissociation of the NWC from the arrangement which was transparently and collectively made. He advised the chairman to avoid making such a statement warning that the chairman’s pronouncement is capable of causing an unnecessary crisis between the National Assembly and the party leadership.

It was also gathered that the former Caretaker Committee Chairman and governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni joined his colleagues to advise the party leadership to work towards uniting the party by closing ranks with some aggrieved members of the party.

Buni stressed the need for unity among the various party organs and hierarchies.

Addressing newsmen after the meeting, the Chairman of PGF and governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzondimma faulted the national chairman position on the Principal officers of the National Assembly maintaining that the leadership of the legislative houses enjoys the support of APC governors.

“Chairman never said that they are on their own. The National Assembly leadership belongs to our great party and they are members of our party, they are members of our party and they enjoy our support.

“If there is any way that there is a communication gap anywhere, we will make it up and we have our internal mechanism of resolving such things. The National Assembly leadership enjoys the support of the Progressives Governors Forum and our party. We don’t have any problem at all.”

On their meeting which lasted for over three hours, the PGF Chairman said the two organs of the party reviewed among other things the outcome of the 2023 elections and identify areas that the party has to strengthen.

Governors at the meeting include Hope Uzodimma (Imo); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Abdulrahman AbdulRasak (Kwara); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti); Rev. Hyacient Alia (Benue); Diko Rada (Katsina); Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Francis Ogobona Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Umar Namadi (Jigawa) and Umar Mohammed (Niger).

Others are deputy governors of Kaduna State, Haidza Balarabe and her Nasarawa counterpart, Dr Emmanuel Agbadu Akabe.

Also in attendance were all members of the NWC except the National Publicity Secretary, the National Financial Secretary, National Organising Secretary and the Deputy National Organising Secretary.