Politics
APC And The Change That Begins From N’Assembly
Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara
The emergence of
Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of House or Representatives, respectively, is no doubt an historical event that will attract a lot of references in years to come.
If for nothing else, the intrigues surrounding the election of the two principal offices of the 8th Assembly last Tuesday are enough to embed the entire proceedings in the hearts of close watchers.
At the end of the day, the ball seems to have been played to the court of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to make good it’s widely acclaimed mantra – change, which started with its defeat of an incumbent national government, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
The major plot thickened a few days to the election when the leadership of the APC made it clear that it would prefer consensus candidates for key positions in the National Assembly, which necessitated the call for a meeting to resolve the situation.
Penultimate Saturday preceding last Tuesday’s showdown at the NASS, the APC had conducted mock elections to elect candidates for the two offices. Ahmed Lawan from Yobe and Femi Gbajabiamila were elected as the party’s consensus candidates for Senate President and Speaker of the House, respectively.
But Saraki and Dogara, who are also members of the party, boycotted the election and rejected its outcome, vowing to defy the party and seek for the mandate of their colleagues in an election billed for Tuesday.
The following day, the NationalSsecretary of APC, Mai Mala Buni, issued a statement urging Saraki and Dogara to abide by the decision of the party, but the two contenders rejected the plea by the party leadership and stuck to their gun.
Next, Vice Yemi Osinbajo waded into the matter. According to one of the lawmakers loyal to Dogara, the VP had invited all members to a meeting, even as he said they would boycott it.
“We received text messages from the party informing us of a meeting with the Vice President today; however, we see no difference between the Vice President and those trying to impose leaders on the House of Representatives, so we would not be attending,” he said.
By Monday, it was the turn of governors of the APC, who called an emergency meeting to seek ways of re-uniting members of the ruling party. Sources at the national secretariat of the APC confirmed that the meeting was called by the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha.
And finally on Tuesday, another meeting, allegedly called by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, was scheduled to hold at the International Conference Centre (ICC). The meeting was slated for 9 am while the inauguration was billed to hold at 10.00am at the NASS.
Buhari was said to have abstained from the meeting, when, according to close associates, reports reached him that the exercise would be futile, given PDP’s adoption of Saraki and Dogara.
Earlier, the ruling party had allegedly ordered that every entrance into the National Assembly be shut. As early as 6.00am, the road leading to the National Assembly had been cordoned off, while policemen and other security agents had been deployed to stop human and vehicular movements into the premises.
Unknown to those at the meeting, at about 9.30 am, security agents allowed National Assembly staff and other accredited visitors to walk into the premises, paving the way for the inauguration to start at 10 am. It was learnt that the senators were still awaiting the arrival of Buhari when the news got to them in ICC that Saraki had emerged as the Senate President.
Reacting to the development in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the APC declared 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.
“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.
“All National Assembly members-elect who emerged on the platform of the party are bound by that decision. The party is supreme and its interest is superior to that of its individual members.”
The APC decried the development, saying it amounts to “a situation in which some people, based on nothing but inordinate ambition and lack of discipline and loyalty, will enter into an unholy alliance with the very same people whom the party and indeed the entire country worked hard to replace and sell out the hard won victory of the Party”.
It continued that “consequently, the APC leadership is meeting in a bid to re-establish discipline in the party and to mete out the necessary sanctions to all those involved in what is nothing but a monumental act of indiscipline and betrayal to subject the party to ridicule and create obstacles for the new administration”.
The whole episode is reminiscent of what the PDP suffered in 2011 when lawmakers on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) helped Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha to defy the zoning formula of the PDP to emerge Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the House.
That act of defiance by PDP members in 2011 is believed to have haunted the PDP, resulting in the eventual defection of Tambuwal along with several other PDP lawmakers to the APC. It is also believed to be one of the factors that led to PDP’s woeful performance at the 2015 polls.
Given the emergence of Saraki and Ekweremdu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively, the APC had wittingly or unwittingly brought about a second major change in the country’s polity.
For the first time in Nigeria’s political history, the opposition not only won the position of Deputy Senate President, but, was instrumental to the emergence of the Senate President.
As Saraki said in his acceptance speech, “We (NASS) have today demonstrated that even though we may belong to different parties, we are ultimately united by our common desire to entrench democracy and allow its principle guide our conducts.
“The change that our people voted for is a change from a life of poverty, misery to a life of prosperity, happiness, security and comfort, accountability and respect for democracy.
“This is a change that all of us in the National Assembly must strive to justify. Nigerians want to see a proactive National Assembly.”
Soibi Max-Alalibo
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.