APC underrated G-5 governors over national assembly crisis, says Kwankwaso

Firstclass newsline gathered that a former Governor of Kano State,
Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said that the crisis in the National Assembly
was caused by a miscalculation by the All Progressives Congress
leadership.
According to him, the leadership of the party probably underrated the
G-5 governors in deciding on those that should vie for top positions
in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The miscalculation, he said, played out on the floor of the National
Assembly during the election of the Senate President and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives as well as their deputies.
He said this in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Monday.
Kwankwaso was one of five governors who defected from the then ruling
Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
The other members of the group were Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rotimi
Amaechi (Rivers), Alhaji Magatakarda Wamakko (Sokoto) and Kwara
State Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed.
"The leaders of APC may have underrated the members of the G-5
governors and their potential to do good or to do bad depending on the
circumstances," the former governor said.
He also explained that apart from this, some of his colleagues
(ex-governors) in the Senate felt a certain party leader had had a
domineering influence on the party and had also had his own fair
share of positions.
These, combined with other factors, he claimed, worked against the
party's interest during the elections in the National Assembly.
Kwankwaso also expressed disappointment that the party missed some
important steps that it should have taken to avoid the loss it
suffered in the National Assembly.
He said, "On the issue of what went wrong with our party with regard
to the crisis during the election of the National Assembly
leadership, I think so many things went wrong prominent of which has
to do with time.
"The election was something that has relationship with time and we
know very well that we had so many weeks to prepare ourselves for the
elections in the legislative chambers.
"I wished time was really taken to ensure that we had a successful election.
"Although this is not the time to begin to trade blames, many of us
had drawn the attention of our leaders to do the right thing at the
right time. Sometimes, you might decide to do the right thing at the
wrong time that will certainly back- fire."
He also noted that the APC missed the opportunity of resolving the
issues probably because most of the people involved were facing such
challenges for the first time in their political history.
Recounting his experience on the day of the inaugural sitting of the
8th National Assembly, he said he was receiving a group of supporters
from Kano when he got a call that the election for the Senate
leadership had commenced.
According to him, he quickly got into his car and asked his driver to
head to the National Assembly complex instead of the International
Conference Centre which he had in mind.
He further explained that on getting to the Senate, he saw that
elections had been concluded and that Bukola Saraki was being
sworn in.
Kwankwaso confirmed that he got a text message from some party
officials informing him of the meeting with Buhari at the ICC, noting
that the message did not emanate directly from the President.
He expressed disappointment that the situation had polarised the party
but said it was not too late to repair the damage and forge ahead.
Kwankwaso said, "I think the party is unfortunately divided but it is
not too late to correct things. The party should take steps to correct
things and to ensure that the crisis is quickly put behind it."
He also disclosed that he had advised Saraki not to pursue his
ambition to be Senate President but he refused.
Kwankwaso said the decision of the pro-Saraki APC Senators to reach
an alliance with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party was a romance
taken too far.
He said that the APC should look at the situation and come up with
ways to redeem it.
Barring any last minute changes, the APC Board of Trustees and
national leaders will meet in Abuja on Tuesday(today) to deliberate on
the crisis plaguing the party.
However, unlike previous meetings which were normally advertised, this
one was directly communicated to the national leaders and BOT members.
Firstclass newsline learnt in Abuja on Monday that top on the agenda
was the search for truce among feuding members of the party.
The party found itself in a quagmire after the National Assembly
leadership elections failed to go the way its leadership planned it.
The APC held shadow elections for aspirants for the positions of
Senate President and Speaker of the House.
At the end of the exercise, the party announced Ahmed Lawan and Femi
Gbajabiamila as sole candidates for the positions of Senate President
and Speaker respectively.
However, Saraki and Yakubu Dogara,defied the party and went ahead to contest.
Asked if the party was setting up a reconciliation committee to
address the fallout of the national assembly leadership crisis,
Odigie-Oyegun said, nothing was being left to chance.
"We are working on all fronts and at different layers. I am personally
leading the effort,"he said in a text message to a source
Nassarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura had on Sunday told newsmen in
Lafia, that the party leaders would meet in Abuja on Tuesday to
deliberate on the challenges facing the party.
It was however learnt from the APC National Chairman, John
Odigie-Oyegun, on Monday that the leadership crisis in the National
Assembly might have delayed the sending of the ministerial list
to the lawmakers for screening also.
But he said the APC was working assiduously to ensure that the
differences among its National Assembly members were quickly
resolved in the interest of the nation.
He added, "All other things will have to wait. This is because we
don't want a situation whereby the Senate will be divided if, for
instance, the President says he wants to present his list of
ministerial nominees.
"So, we are trying to sort that out; it is our number one priority. We
are happy that we are arriving at an amicable settlement of the
situation; this one cannot wait for long. It has to be immediate ."
He, however, explained that while the party was working with Buhari to
build a formidable team comprising tested politicians and technocrats,
the decision to appoint ministers and presidential aides was entirely
the prerogative of the President.
Odigie-Oyegun, who dismissed insinuations that there was a rift
between the party and the President over the ministerial list,
appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with the President because
he needed to get a right team.
He said, "There is absolutely no dispute between the party and the
President. We agreed that we shall use all manner of people:
politicians, technocrats, all manner of people, even if not
politicians, who can deliver and who subscribe passionately to the
agenda of the President, to move this country forward, irrespective of
where the people come from; irrespective of whether the person is a
card-carrying member of the party.
"What is important is the qualification of the person and the ability
of the person to deliver on the ideas of Mr. President.''
Firstclassnewsline.net