2019: Reconvene National Assembly now, APC tells Saraki, PDP

The All Progressives Congress has demanded the immediate reconvening of the National Assembly to consider the 2019 Election Budget of  the Independent National Electoral Commission.


The APC also said contrary to claims by the Peoples Democratic Party, the Electoral Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly was alive and awaiting President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent.

This was contained in a statement signed by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja, on Friday.

According to the statement,  the PDP’s attempt to hide under the yet-to-be assented Electoral Act Amendment bill is an attempt to draw attention away from “the treasonable actions of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki who has refused to convene the National Assembly to consider at plenary the crucial 2019 Election Budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

Nabena said “Electoral Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly is alive and awaiting assent. However, assent to bills in all democratic governments reflects the prudence and discretion of the president in balancing the powers of key constitutional bodies and understanding the concerns of the executive.”

Your resort to blackmail over NASS reconvening won’t work, PDP tells Oshiomhole

The PDP, in its response, told the APC that its alleged resort to blackmail and twisting of facts would not work over the impasse at the NASS.

The party said Nigerians were already aware of how the APC had allegedly been frustrating the NASS by creating hitches, illegal impeachment processes, physical blockage of the NASS access and besieging of the official residence of Senate President and his deputy, Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu respectively.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this in a statement released in Abuja on Friday.

He said, “We are not amazed that the APC, in its characteristic shambolic denials, will turn around to point accusing fingers at our repositioned party and members for the situation in NASS, when the echoes of their open threats, tantrums, verbosity and loquaciousness against our legislators are yet to evaporate from the public space.

“The APC is pretending not to remember that the Buhari Presidency deliberately kept the Independent National Electoral Commission budget submitted to it since February till July when it presented it to the National Assembly and curiously demanded that the fund be vired from the constituency project fund of lawmakers.”