kogiflame.com
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari, and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, for a second term, a cross-section of Senator selected under the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, have spoken out against the leadership ambition of their National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The Lawmakers, warned President Buhari against allowing the 9th National Assembly to be taken over by the foot-soldiers of their National Leader.
The Senators-elect, disclosed that the recommendation by the APC, that the incumbent Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, for the Senate Presidency, was a plot to surrender the Parliament to Tinubu.
They also said that the touting of the House of Representatives Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was in the same direction.
One of the Lawmakers-elect, pointed out that since Tinubu has produced the Vice President, in the person of Yemi Osinbajo, and Adams Oshiomhole, as the APC National Chairman, other contributors to the victory of the party should also be rewarded.
He said: “Lawan and Gbajabiamila are the Candidates of Tinubu. If they have their way, it means Tinubu has extended his hold to the Parliament. Already, he has the Vice President, and the APC National Chairman. What else is left for others?”
The Lawmaker continued: “People are just keeping quiet, because of their respect for Buhari who believes that it is payback time for Tinubu. It should not be so, because other people contributed, and they should be rewarded, accordingly.”
Another Lawmaker from the North, maintained that the quest by Tinubu to conquer the National Assembly, was simply to lay the foundation for his 2023 Presidential ambition.
“He deliberately brought his Colloquium to Abuja as against Lagos, his usual venue, because he wants to conquer the country. He feels that it is time for him to do so.
“He has pocketed Lagos, and he is leaving no stone unturned to pocket the country. Some of us are of the view that neutral Candidates should be considered for the National Assembly Leadership, and not those whose allegiance will be to Tinubu, and not the country”, he said.
Recall, that Asiwaju celebrated his 67th birthday anniversary, yesterday, and held his yearly colloquium at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The event which attracted virtually all the big names in the ruling party except President Buhari, drew side comments from the guests.
Dignitaries at the event in which the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo represented his principal consisted of several members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), National Assembly, and the APC’s 23 governors.
They included: chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulaziz Yari; chairman of Progressive Governors’ Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano); and Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi).
Members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the party’s National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole were also present.
The colloquium tagged, “Work For The People”, was mainly a celebration of the recent presidential poll in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returned Buhari as winner.
In his remarks, Tinubu expressed gratitude to the president for laying a good foundation for the economic recovery of the country, even as he acknowledged the challenges faced by the administration.
Meanwhile the presence of two of the gladiators jostling for the leadership of the Ninth National Assembly, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, who were on hand to pay tributes to Tinubu, helped to give the impression that the president might have tactically stayed away from the celebration to avoid close contact with the juggernauts.
