The battle for the control of the National Assembly may be long drawn as the leadership of the All Progressives Congress on Monday insisted on removing the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, of the minority Peoples Democratic Party.
It was learnt on Monday that the ruling APC was still miffed that Ekweremadu emerged as the deputy senate president and had vowed never to allow “a senator from a minority party take over the duties statutorily assigned for the majority party.”
A leader of the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that Ekweremadu as deputy senate president would hamper the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The APC leader said, “As deputy senate leader, Ekweremadu is automatically the Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. This is a sensitive position that, statutorily, should not be held by the minority.
“Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers will hamper the policies of the Buhari government. By the virtue of Senate rules, a member of the minority is not supposed to be the deputy senate leader; so, he is occupying the post illegally.
“We know the body language of some of these elements to anti-corruption. Nigerians know the stance of Buhari on corruption and insecurity.
These elements occupying positions in the National Assembly must be removed. Otherwise, this administration is dead on arrival.”
He said the President was in support of the candidacy of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the senate presidency and had told Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to support APC’s candidates for the principal posts.
“The President has refused to see Saraki and Dogara since they emerged as senate president and speaker respectively. Both Saraki and Dogara have done everything possible to see the President but he has shunned them because he is not happy about their conduct. You can see that the President has seen the Lawan group; this shows where his support lies,” the source added.
Meanwhile, barring any last minute changes, the National Executive Committee meeting of the APC will now hold on Friday.
National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, confirmed this to one of our correspondents in a text message on Monday.
In response to an inquiry from The PUNCH as to whether the party’s NEC would meet in Abuja on Tuesday, Odigie-Oyegun replied, “Necessarily on Friday.”
The PUNCH had earlier learnt that some party leaders at various levels had impressed it upon the party hierarchy to convene the high level meeting in order to find an amicable solution to the crisis threatening the party’s survival.
Members of the 48-member NEC are due to arrive in Abuja on Thursday, our correspondent learnt.
A national caucus meeting said to have been scheduled to hold on Monday was cancelled.
One of punch' correspondents, who visited both the party’s national secretariat and the residence of Odigie-Oyegun, reported that there was no sign that any meeting would hold at either of the venues as of 8.05pm on Monday.
The APC has been in crisis since the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9 following the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.
The party had announced Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as its sole candidates for the two positions.
Matters were made worse when the Senate President ignored a party directive that the remaining four leadership positions in both chambers of the National Assembly should be conceded to those who “lost out” during the inauguration.
Punch reportage
Nonsence
ReplyDeleteAPC is always full of complaining
APC piss off jare!
DeleteHmmmmm
DeleteAPC is dead on arrival, after all the desperation to gain power thay can't even handle it after a few months? Same old recycled miscreants..
DeleteU dey mind them?
DeleteThey are noise makers
Dem born dem well?..make dem remove am now
Nonsense and ingredient
@Galore
If they'll not careful, they'll not last beyond 4yrs in office.
DeleteYour comment will be visible after approval
I'm a Buhari fan,
DeleteThey better live with because they caused it.
So the Lawan man could settle for deputy senate pres?
Abeg jare APC should take several seats ......
For the election to take place, at least one third of the members must be present and the PDP constitute like a one third so you can imagine what would have happened if the APC members that were in the house that day were absent... A PDP man would have emerged senate president and they would have done nothing. Plus why would they fix a meeting at the same time they were supposed to go and vote for the office of the senate president??
Lemme just forget this ppl sef. Not like I'm getting one naira sef.
You guys are desperately waiting for APC to fail...
DeleteThis Apc ppl their wahala is becoming too much
ReplyDeleteAfeeeceee! Change. Confusionists and beefers. Bukola emerged legally albeit disloyally, u can't do shit to him.
ReplyDeleteOh Pls you guys (APC )should keep quiet already, weren't their eyes opened when he emerged, they were all dragging the position of the president of the house forgetting about the vice president position, PDP grabbed it now they are saying nonsense, Ekeweremadu siddon there yansh no go pain you, Amen
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteThe Polity heating up!
Stella, what's your comment on this?
ReplyDeleteOkay... There biznes.
ReplyDelete*yawns*
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteEkwerammadu is about to be slaughtered in the altar of political jingoism.
APC can forgive Saraki who is a member but can they extend that forgiveness to Dikeọha?
NO,is the answer.
I see him resigning. Soon.
really?
DeleteApc & their rants always,so they only want to rule & feel pdp doesn't have say in the affairs of the country anymore.....rubbish
ReplyDeleteHow will his position hamper this administration?? Lord I'm tired of apc's scheming. Ekweremadu ain't going anywhere!
ReplyDeleteMy trust me, he will be removed or he might resign before they do.
DeleteHe knew from the start he was sitting with one yansh on that seat. This is Nigeria.
He will be removed. Confirm!
Hmmmm power hungry old men! Change indeed!
ReplyDeleteThis is arrant nonsense. Is the president God? This was Exactly what killed GEJ with bamanga tukor,let Buhari be forming God and see how he will be dead on arrival too.The most inefficient president we have ever witnessed since democracy, senseless and the most Autocratic backwards leader I know.Removing ekweremnadu is changing the constitution and this has shown us Nigerians that if it were APC that lost the presidency to PDP, there would have been crisis. Bunch of old desperate unrepentant things especially oyegun and Tinubu. Let's see how this plays out,Your party is dead on arrival and nothing can change the fact that you guys have no plans for Nigeria and you say Corruption,please name one person in APC who isn't Corrupt? Your emphasis on corruption has further shown that your plans for nigeria is already dead because for the past 30 days,it has bn power tussle.Sariki is a smart man and learnt from his father, see how you guys are out played. Later the president will beg to see them.
ReplyDeleteLol @ dead on arrival
DeleteMy dear, say no more! Na siddon look be me middle name now
DeleteThis is arrant nonsense. Is the president God? This was Exactly what killed GEJ with bamanga tukor,let Buhari be forming God and see how he will be dead on arrival too.The most inefficient president we have ever witnessed since democracy, senseless and the most Autocratic backwards leader I know.Removing ekweremnadu is changing the constitution and this has shown us Nigerians that if it were APC that lost the presidency to PDP, there would have been crisis. Bunch of old desperate unrepentant things especially oyegun and Tinubu. Let's see how this plays out,Your party is dead on arrival and nothing can change the fact that you guys have no plans for Nigeria and you say Corruption,please name one person in APC who isn't Corrupt? Your emphasis on corruption has further shown that your plans for nigeria is already dead because for the past 30 days,it has bn power tussle.Sariki is a smart man and learnt from his father, see how you guys are out played. Later the president will beg to see them.
ReplyDeleteobi this is serious
ReplyDelete#GODWIN™
a.k.a EDWIN CHINEDU AZUBUKO said..
ReplyDelete.
APC are really angry bcos they are not fully in control and this senate never meant well for Nigerians but their own pockets nothing else....
.
.
***CURRENTLY IN JUPITER***
All those saying CHANGE IS Here. Come and defend your APC. Useless party right from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI think APC is right,it's not about APC but about doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteA lot of PDP supporters are truly pained with the situation they found themselves the past months and i believe their anger will continue even with those who do not benefit from the national cake.
My question is will PDP supporters run out of Nigeria if APC/PMB fix the problem created by PDP the past years?
Everyone want situation that took PDP government 16years without success to be resolved in a month. We don't need a government that set up committee even when light is taken by Nepa so the new government should take their time.
The problem with the house leadership is that Ike Ekweremadu should have gone with his master David Mark. APC won in landslide victory so both house leadership should come from their party as PDP is minority party. Ekweremadu has been on the seat for 6 years and nothing to show for it, even his towns men in Europe want him out. Chris Ngigi or any other competent igbo legislator should take over him.
Mr. Nudist mechi onu mbo. Who told you Ekweremadu has nothing to show for it? Have u done a proper research? He has been an advocate for regional control but the northerners keep frustrating the effort. He was voted in and clearly won so what are we arguing about 54 votes to Ali Ndume's 20. Ngige that lost the last election should be made deputy ? Do u know that if Ekweremadu didn't win as Deputy no one from the minority SS n SE would have been represented in principal position in the NASS. What role does the deputy senate president play that causing all this fuss. Their problem is that an Igbo man is being represented that's all. I know all these would be hard for u to understand because u sold ur sense with 50k u gave nelo. Anuofia Di ka gi.
DeleteChop knuckle jare
DeleteStingy Ekweremadu...
DeleteHe is nice sha but my problem with him is the way he ignored all the federal roads in the east...
None of the roads in the east is in good condition...they are all death trap...
Him winning the deputy senate presdent again is just a waste to ndi Igbo...
Hahahahah ewu hausa @anonymous efulu amu nkem ka obu amu nnagi? Hahaha umuaka you wish you did. Look well next time it should be for another customer because i ain't into asiri inugu? N ihi na ifem adihu na esemese (photo). Amaara m ihe kari ah ife i dere. Ibu onye iberibe inugu? Biko nzuzu pu.
Deleteyour ranting made no sense as in my write up you left the part i said competent igbo to replace him but your sense of reasoning was swallowed by your maggot (ikpuru) juputara UBURU you couldn't read and comprehend.
He has been there for 6years and there's nothing to show for it a lot of other igbo's can represent him as you want to play tribal card that has taken your region to no where.
@Linda don't mind them they are only after their pocket is only ignorant people like the anonymous up there that will claim representing igbo.
Yes he is stingy knew it through his town man i know and was with him last week i even drop him at their town meeting. When mumu like anonymous talk out of sense they claim tribe. What representing igbo are you even talking about?did he construct road in my state or town for him to represent my tribe.
@SisiEko thanks the other day i know you're a smart and intelligent lady na you figure out wetin dey last time.
Ike ekweremadu is not going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteYes. He should step aside for Tinubu 's wife. Apologies to IBB.
ReplyDeletePeople voted apc without even making proper research ... Nigerians are not as wise as they think, some group of old desperate bastards jst used the word change and a broom to decieve nigerians to vote them into power ... I hope this is the change u guys were looking for
ReplyDeleteApc don full of shits
ReplyDeleteNigerian politics is getting more interesting by the day!
ReplyDeleteAsin ehhee...I have never been this interested in the whole drama...
DeleteHahaha.
ReplyDeleteThe Final Battle Loading.
Ekwerammadu goeth nowhere. And I repeat, no where.
Xhalirtefred P,ok o
DeleteYetinde says are u people on dis blog for real?where have u seen a minority leading d majority?PDP was @ d senate for 16yrs,they only gave out minority leader 2d opposition,have u ever sat down to watch house plenary sessions in both d red & d green chambers?Noo,why isn't anybody asking bukola saraki why he dint go 4 dat meeting his Party members went for?he's a desperado#shikena,he slyed,they knew his ambition dats why they never wanted him there.see no peace for him,others zones deserve d senate presidency,not only d north central,north-east is bereaved,they've nt being themselves for years,they've lost lives,properties,their women & children are dead,some are missing,nobody is finking abt dem,dnt let us be self-centred,they deserve a voice.morning stella & sdkers.
ReplyDeleteYou dey mind them? Smart phones, stupid people. Sitting on their asses all day, typing trash like they know something.
DeleteThank u Yetinde. Saraki understood what was up and he played the game to his advantage. Honestly I can't totally fault him because he was smart enough to get what he wanted. But my grievance with him, as well as many others, is the game he's been playing since assuming office as senate president.
DeleteI think he's reacting to the disgrace Remi Tinubu dished at him openly the other day. He's calling Apc's bluff, though subtly. He knows that the party cannot remove him, but can query him..which rarely would amount to nothing. Saraki will break that party into 2 groups very soon.
The likes of Dino Melaye are his supporters, and with 4 years to go, he'll step on their toes continuously..while they on the other hand will continually plot his exit. This in fact is what we'll deal with in this dispensation. Same goes for the green chambers.
They should allow ekwemandu and saraki to rest. Ike is deputy SP and not even Buhari can remove him. Next time they should play their game well. APC and complain. They want to take all the key positions alone so they can really 'change' this nation. They need an opposition in their midst to make them do things the right way.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha
ReplyDeleteBy removing ekweremadu, the Igbos would be out of the scheme of things...Buhari, please don't use your sentiment against Gej to destroy your own administration...do the right thing so as to be remembered positively in the history of Nigeria
ReplyDeleteJay Moore, u said Chris Ngige deserves what? Lol. Ekweremandu should rather sit there than Ngige biko. The selfish Ngige? We don't want him
ReplyDeleteSo when will APC stop fighting and start ruling Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteEnough of this APC and PDP nonsense. This shouldn't be a party thing, the main focus should be on developing the nation and making Nigeria a better country for we all. Irrespective of minority or majority, please our leaders join heads together and make Nigeria great.
ReplyDeleteThis APC people don dey vex me oh. What is their problem? Is there something that they are afraid of in terms of their leader not lasting till four years. They should let these people be. They are getting scared as if there is an impending doom hovering over them. Buhari's choice of his own candidate does not mean he is the right choice for the people, just like him emerging winner does not mean he is the right candidate for he people too. They should stop this bickering. They have not done any tangible thing since all of them were elected into office. Only to fight.
ReplyDelete