APC governors ask Buhari to save party

APC governors have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the ruling party’s ongoing crisis to save it from “derailing”.

At a meeting with Buhari, which began 11pm on Tuesday and ended in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the governors discussed issues arising from the election of the leadership of the national assembly.

The preferred candidates of the party were outsmarted by Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara who went on to become senate president and speaker respectively following support from the PDP.

The PDP also produced the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, whose election has continued to be seen as an embarrassment by the APC leaders.

Fielding questions from state house correspondents at the end of the meeting, Rochas Okorocha, the governor of Imo state, said: “We are worried by what is happening at the National Assembly. We felt we should rub minds with Mr. President and also to commend him on the steps he has taken so far to address the issue of the economy of the nation which is literarily a shambles.

“But with all these achievements we are making, we are worried by the pockets of disagreements going on at the national assembly and we have resolved that we came from a party and our party’s views should be respected.

“So we feel that there’s is room for us to invite our senators and look more into the matter and see how we can all make peace.

“We believe that everyone should respect our party and for that reason we have decided that we are going to invite our senators and rub minds with them.

“We are saying that there should not be a winner-takes-all, that we should carry everybody along, accommodate others as suggested by the party,” he said.

Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo state, said: “Basically what we are saying is that the senators should adopt the position of the party.

“We were all elected on the platform of the party, we are not just a collection of individuals. We are a political party and when the party has spoken we must listen otherwise if it was a game of individuals like golf then individuals can go their way.

“I think it is very clear at this point that the party has the responsibility to keep the system going. So we as progressive governors we have listened to the president and we have discussed extensively and we are clear that the party’s position should be supported by the senators. This is the way it should be and we should start on a note of walking closely.”

After breaking of fast on Tuesday evening  Buhari entered into another meeting at the presidential villa with all the APC’s governors.

The meeting had in attendance 16 governors out of the 22 states controlled by APC.