Buhari Disagrees With Party On Saraki, Dogara

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President Muhammadu Buhari

By Nuel Suji, Abuja.

Restates readiness to work with them.

President Muhammadu Buhari restated his readiness to work with the Sen. Bukola Saraki and Rep. Yakubu Dogara led National Assembly, saying the sentiment that he would work with whoever emerge as presiding officers of the two chambers still stands.

Buhari called on all the elected representatives of the people to focus on the enormous task of bringing enduring positive change to the lives of Nigerians.

Already, the All Progressive Congress (APC) had rejected the elections of the duo, insisting that they are not party’s choices.

APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said in a statement Tuesday that “Senator Bukola and Hon. Dogara are not the candidates of the APC and a majority of its National Assembly members-elect for the positions of Senate President and House Speaker.

He said the party duly met and conducted a straw poll and clear candidates emerged for the posts of Senate President, Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, supported by a majority of all Senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives, contending that all National Assembly members-elect who emerged on the platform of the party were bound by that decision.

But Buhari, while reacting in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) Femi Adesina said the president would rather prefer that the process of electing the National Assembly leaders follows the process initiated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, the President noted that a constitutional process has somewhat occurred.

“President Buhari had said in an earlier statement that he did not have any preferred candidate for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected. That sentiment still stands,” the statement added.

It added that, “though he would have preferred the new leaders to have emerged through the process established by the party,” the statement explained

Adesina stressed that “the stability of our constitutional order and overall interest of the common man were uppermost on the President’s mind, as far as the National Assembly elections were concerned.”