Politics
Buhari Felicitates With Senate President At 62
President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on his 62nd birthday, cherishing the maturity and purposeful leadership that the lawmaker has brought to the upper chamber.
In a congratulatory message issued by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Wednesday, Buhari lauded the way and manner Lawan had been handling every issue in the chamber following his years of experience and wisdom.
The president joined members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), National Assembly, staff, family, friends and associates of the Senate President in celebrating another age, heralded by lofty achievements.
He stated that these achievements included years of research and sharing of knowledge as a lecturer, eight years in the House of Representatives, before his election to the Senate in 2007.
According to him, Lawan’s steady progress on the ladder of leadership shows his empathy, tenacity and focus on improving the lives of Nigerians.
He, therefore, affirmed that the cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislature had fostered faster and better results in the development of the country.
On the Senate President’s 62nd birthday, the President prayed that the Almighty God would grant him good health, wisdom and longer life to keep serving the country and humanity.
Politics
LP Crisis: Ex-NWC Member Dumps Dumps Abure Faction
Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.
“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”
The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.
“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.
“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.
“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”
Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.
He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”
He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.
“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”
Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.
“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.
