Buhari shock top politicians in APC lobbying to influence the National Assembly... Read what he said

Buhari shock top politicians in APC lobbying to influence the National Assembly... Read what he said...

Unlike Former President Olusegun Obasanjo And President Goodluck Jonathan, Buhari Is A Man Of His Word

ABUJA – Deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives Hon. Suleiman Kawu has commended the incoming president, General Mohammadu Buhari for resolve not to interfere in the process of electing the leadership of the incoming 8th National Assembly.

It will be recalled that Buhari on Wednesday declared that he was not interested in who emerges as Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In a statement in Abuja, Kawu who is a three-term member of the House and a principal officer for 8 years distinguished Buhari for former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

He added that Buhari by his resolve has demonstrated the that he was a true democrat.

He said: “As a three-term member of the House, and principal officer for eight years, I know that history has shown that all attempts by presidency or the ruling party to impose their stooges as leaders of the National Assembly have been unsuccessful.

“By deciding not to impose leadership on the lawmakers in the 8th Assembly, Buhari has once again proven to Nigerians that he is an honest, sincere and patriotic leader who puts the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians over and above any other interest.

“It shows that unlike former president Olusegun Obasanjo and president Goodluck Jonathan, Buhari is a man of his word, and even democratic than the others before him.

“He has started demonstrating the change he promised Nigerians as this will be the first time that a Nigerian president is given the National Assembly members free hand to choose their leaders.

Kawu also called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC to respect Buhari’s declaration, stressing that the first position in the two chambers were not for the party to decide.

“I call on the leadership of our party the All Progressives Congress (APC) to abide by the decision taken by the president and not to do anything that will undermine his position as the leader of the party and father of the nation.

“Both senators and House of Representatives members should be allowed to elect leaders of their choice.

“The two presiding officers of senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives are not party positions which is why all MPs participate in their election.

“The APC, can after the emergence of the presiding officers, zone the principal positions since that falls exclusively within the power of the party or that of its caucuses in the National Assembly”, he said.

Going into memory lane, the deputy minority leader reminded APC that the imposition of candidate has always been resisted by the lawmakers who prefer to elect their own leaders, warning that the party must avoid the mistakes of the PDP.

He also urged the contenders of the positions to note the challenges inherent in the offices.

“We are all witnesses to what happened in 2011 when the House rejected imposition of leadership by both the presidency and the People`s Democratic Party (PDP).

“The House project was a bipartisan movement of members from all political parties which helped installed the outgoing leadership of the contributed to the formation of the APC and the change we now have.

“It is worth mentioning that the major political problems of the Goodluck Jonathan administration started with the attempt to impose a leadership on the House which was resisted. APC as a party which came to power with the mantra of change and we should not be quick to forget this.

“In 2007, both the presidency and the PDP imposed Patricia Etteh on the House but she had to resign four months after. Not deterred they unsuccessfully again attempted to impose another stooge as Speaker but members resisted it and elected Dimeji Bankole.

“APC should thread the path of caution so as to avoid being humiliated by members if it tries to impose leadership on them.

Nigerians embraced the APC because of the calibre of leaders like Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, senator Bola Tinubu, Chief John Oyegun and many others who inspired them to accepted the party.

“We signed a promissory note of bringing change to Nigerians which brought us to power , we should not start failing even before we commence the journey.

“APC should not repeat the mistakes of the PDP which ousted it out of power after 16 years as this will have great consequence on the future political fortunes of the party.

“Our leader, the president-elect has spoken and the APC National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee should not do anything to undermine his stance.

“I must appreciate zeal, enthusiasm and determination of the gladiators who are in the race for the Speakerahip. They are all competent, capable and possess the requisite knowledge of leading the house

“However, i urge them to do it with caution as the challenges before us as a party are enormous.

“I urge all stake holders to put their hands on deck to deliver on the promises made to Nigerians during the campaigns”, Kawu said.