President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the gladiators in the ongoing crisis in the House of Representatives to resolve all pending issues within six hours, ahead of the resumption of house plenary Tuesday.
Mr. Buhari met with the All Progressives Congress, APC, house caucus at the Presidential Villa Abuja, Monday.
One of the members who attended the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes, stated that the president “did not waste time, but simply reminded members on the need for party discipline”.
“He said he never wanted to interfere in the affairs of the Legislature, but he’s now forced to do so to maintain party discipline,” the source quoted the president as saying.
The source, who declined to be named because he was not permitted to speak to the media on the outcome of the meeting, said Mr. Buhari asked Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Femi Gbajabiamila to hold a meeting with the national chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun and find a solution to the problem within the next six hours.
“The president said it was unacceptable for him to be in office under the APC, and the PDP would be allowed to dictate who occupies positions in an administration he heads,” the source said.
“Buhari urged all members to look beyond themselves and consider the country and the platform under which they were elected.”
The source added that the APC leadership is expected to brief the president on the outcome of the meeting between Messrs. Dogara, Gbajabiamila and Odigie-Oyegun.
The meeting with the lawmakers had ended without a consensus on how to solve the lingering crisis.
Members emerged from the brief talks with the president, insisting on their varied terms as the solution to the crisis. Some lawmakers threatened violence.
The House is resuming Tuesday after nearly a month break.
The prolonged break followed a violent clash on the floor of the chambers after members supporting the speaker, Mr. Dogara, and those backing former minority leader, Mr. Gbajabiamila, engaged in a free-for-all.
Mr. Dogara emerged speaker in defiance of the APC leadership’s decision to anoint Mr. Gbajabiamila for the office.
Since then, the party has insisted Mr. Gbajabiamila be made the majority leader, a proposal Mr. Dogara rejects. The speaker says Mr. Gbajabiamila’s south west region has produced the deputy speaker, Yusuf Lasun.
Ahead of resumption Tuesday, the house warned against violence that may again erupt on the floor of the house.
Mr. Lasun also vowed Monday that he will not step down for Mr. Gbajabiamila as a way of resolving the crisis.
Messrs Dogara and Gbajabiamila were in attendance at the meeting with President Buhari.
Mr. Gbajabiamila, who spoke to journalists first, said the president insisted that the party was supreme and its structures must be adhered to.
“We spoke heart to heart with the president,” he said, adding that this was the first time the two groups had met peacefully.
Mr. Dogara and the party chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, who had extra discussions with the president, later emerged to speak with the press amid heckling from some members who threatened to assault the speaker if he said anything different.
The chairman of the party, Mr. Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke on behalf of the party, said the meeting was a family meeting and was a success, adding that in another three to four hours, there will be good news.
He opted to speak for Mr. Dogara, but the speaker spoke for himself saying he had always been on the side of the party as against the opinion of his other colleagues.
The members are expected to meet with the leadership of the party and come up with names to fill the slots for the principal officers and revert to the president. They are expected to meet with the president later Monday night.
Stupid government change , where is the change?
ReplyDelete“The president said it was unacceptable for him to be in office under the APC, and the PDP would be allowed to dictate who occupies positions in an administration he heads,” these are words that cannot be denied even by the so call PDP faithfuls. I expected this to end everything.
ReplyDeleteA house divided amongst itself cannot stand.
ReplyDeleteThey will stand when the time comes to share money and university girls.
DeleteSo good u know they share University girls!who is to be blamed? anyway money is the power. God will punish them all. Come to the issue on ground. Greed is d root cause of all this. Do cars should be grateful to Allah that he became the speaker against the Party wish but that shouldn't make him above the Party. And his plans are 1. He doesn't want to betray PEP thru whose step he won the seat. 2. He will need PDP to retain his seat in case of impeachment hence his loyal to them than APC Mark my words.... madness is yet to be seen bcos once he tightens d bonds btwn him and d PDP he will then start coming up with various policy wch will be anti APC then it will be difficult for him to be impeached. GREED and intent to mess This regime is in dpipeline. thanks. SkSKINN.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMallam El-Rufai’s political appointments since he became Governor of Kaduna state have had their best share of controversies. My previous articles have properly documented the intrigues in his appointment of characters like Jimi Lawal, a well-known scammer and fraudster, as Special Assistant on Investment. For time and space, I will not retell those here. His more recent controversial appointment which confirms El-Rufai’s role in the whole Chibok Girls’ saga is his appointment as Chief of Staff Madam Hadiza Bala-Usman, the co-founder of the notorious #BringBackOurGirls group that made things difficult for former President Jonathan. A curious observer is made further confused by the fact that apart from the fact that Ms Hadiza is a known All Progressive Congress (APC) supporter, like Mr Jimi Lawal, she is not from Kaduna. Although, a little bit of clarity may present itself when one finds out that Ms Hadiza did not just start doing hatchet jobs for El-Rufai. As a matter of fact, she stood as El-Rufai’s chief agent during the APC primaries in Kaduna. Any curious observer will immediately see the connection… Ms Hadiza is now being handsomely rewarded for her labour of love and for properly acting out her part of the whole Chibok Girls fiction.
At this point let us introduce another character into our story; Ms Oby Ezekwezili. Having lost her hold on power since her stint with the Obasanjo administration and with no other route into the World Bank’s complex bureaucratic structure, she gladly accepted to play a major role for El-Rufai by joining and ultimately leading the #BringBackOurGirls group. Mind you, being an indigene of Imo state played in her favour. El-Rufai, being a smart man, only made Ms Hadiza the founder and Ms Ezekwezili the convener, so that the group is not seen as a Northern ploy against President Jonathan, a southerner. The role of the former Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals is therefore very clear in that regard. Whoever says el-Rufai is not smart needs to invent another meaning for that word.
Let’s now close the circle: “Madam Due process” as Ms Ezekwezili is sometimes called, understood every word in her job description and knew that no mistakes would be permissible under her new appointment. We are all witnesses to how she did her job well and the attendant drama that followed each speech she gave. She is every day on social media campaigning for the release of the fictitious girls. The matter climaxed in the week to the presidential election when Madam Due process’ voice was loudest. In a typical and predictable way, she suddenly became dumb after General Buhari of the APC was sworn in. No one has heard about Chibok Girls or the notorious group led by Madam ‘Due Process’ ever since, all thanks to Mr. Nobody!
At this point, let us look at some unusual coincidences. Just recently, President Buhari had a scheduled meeting with the notorious #BringBackOurGirls group. Should anyone be surprised it was just after that day that the Boko Haram became bolder. They demanded that the Buhari government negotiate with them. One of the conditions which the government appeared to have accepted now is the release of Boko Haram prisoners for the kidnapped girls. What was El-Rufai and Oby’s response to this?
Rather than focusing on his immediate task of governance, he has been more preoccupied witch-hunting a former minister under the GEJ Administration. Perhaps, someone should help us tell him to stop all this attention-seeking tactics and focus on the more serious business of governance. Is he so bent on outshining his bosses, President Buhari inclusive? Why trying to make the President look inadequate? That still reminds me, why is it every time El-Rufai does something no matter how negligible, he beckons to the press to show off? Are we as a people now celebrating mediocrity in the name of performance?
If truth must be told, it is imperative we probe deeply the true intentions of El-Rufai and his relationship with Oby and the #BringBackOurGirls group.
ReplyDeleteMallam El-Rufai’s political appointments since he became Governor of Kaduna state have had their best share of controversies. My previous articles have properly documented the intrigues in his appointment of characters like Jimi Lawal, a well-known scammer and fraudster, as Special Assistant on Investment. For time and space, I will not retell those here. His more recent controversial appointment which confirms El-Rufai’s role in the whole Chibok Girls’ saga is his appointment as Chief of Staff Madam Hadiza Bala-Usman, the co-founder of the notorious #BringBackOurGirls group that made things difficult for former President Jonathan. A curious observer is made further confused by the fact that apart from the fact that Ms Hadiza is a known All Progressive Congress (APC) supporter, like Mr Jimi Lawal, she is not from Kaduna. Although, a little bit of clarity may present itself when one finds out that Ms Hadiza did not just start doing hatchet jobs for El-Rufai. As a matter of fact, she stood as El-Rufai’s chief agent during the APC primaries in Kaduna. Any curious observer will immediately see the connection… Ms Hadiza is now being handsomely rewarded for her labour of love and for properly acting out her part of the whole Chibok Girls fiction.
At this point let us introduce another character into our story; Ms Oby Ezekwezili. Having lost her hold on power since her stint with the Obasanjo administration and with no other route into the World Bank’s complex bureaucratic structure, she gladly accepted to play a major role for El-Rufai by joining and ultimately leading the #BringBackOurGirls group. Mind you, being an indigene of Imo state played in her favour. El-Rufai, being a smart man, only made Ms Hadiza the founder and Ms Ezekwezili the convener, so that the group is not seen as a Northern ploy against President Jonathan, a southerner. The role of the former Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals is therefore very clear in that regard. Whoever says el-Rufai is not smart needs to invent another meaning for that word.
Let’s now close the circle: “Madam Due process” as Ms Ezekwezili is sometimes called, understood every word in her job description and knew that no mistakes would be permissible under her new appointment. We are all witnesses to how she did her job well and the attendant drama that followed each speech she gave. She is every day on social media campaigning for the release of the fictitious girls. The matter climaxed in the week to the presidential election when Madam Due process’ voice was loudest. In a typical and predictable way, she suddenly became dumb after General Buhari of the APC was sworn in. No one has heard about Chibok Girls or the notorious group led by Madam ‘Due Process’ ever since, all thanks to Mr. Nobody!
At this point, let us look at some unusual coincidences. Just recently, President Buhari had a scheduled meeting with the notorious #BringBackOurGirls group. Should anyone be surprised it was just after that day that the Boko Haram became bolder. They demanded that the Buhari government negotiate with them. One of the conditions which the government appeared to have accepted now is the release of Boko Haram prisoners for the kidnapped girls. What was El-Rufai and Oby’s response to this?
Rather than focusing on his immediate task of governance, he has been more preoccupied witch-hunting a former minister under the GEJ Administration. Perhaps, someone should help us tell him to stop all this attention-seeking tactics and focus on the more serious business of governance. Is he so bent on outshining his bosses, President Buhari inclusive? Why trying to make the President look inadequate? That still reminds me, why is it every time El-Rufai does something no matter how negligible, he beckons to the press to show off? Are we as a people now celebrating mediocrity in the name of performance?
If truth must be told, it is imperative we probe deeply the true intentions of El-Rufai and his relationship with Oby and the #BringBackOurGirls group.