The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, appears to have foreclosed the issue of the recall of suspended Senator Ali Ndume.
Saraki’s position on the issue when the matter came up for discussion at the parley organized by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress and the senators elected on the platform of the party on Tuesday gave away his position.
Speaking after the meeting also, Saraki said it was not an important issue.
The Senate president, who squeezed his face when he was asked by newsmen about the reversal of Ndume’s suspension, said: “Your question again is distracting from the issues.
“You have 108 senators here.
“And you have the National Chairman.
“Let us focus on national issues.”
Saraki had at the Presidential Villa on Monday said the reversal of Ndume’s suspension was beyond him.
Prominent indigenes of Borno State, from where Ndume hails, including Governor Kashim Shettima, senators, members of the House of Representatives and traditional rulers, had on Thursday equally pleaded with Saraki to reverse the suspension.
Saraki said further after the meeting with the APC leadership on Tuesday: “Whether there are issues or not, regular consultations between the legislative arm of government and the party is important.
“It is unfortunate, but the most important thing is that a lot of stakeholders must respect this institution.
“This institution is here now and is going to be there after now.
“So we should not allow our selfish interests to bring ridicule to the institution.
“The institution is what we have and we must ensure that we respect that.”
Saraki said the Senate would not relent in carrying out its constitutional duties, adding: “As I said yesterday, some of these issues are not important to our people.
“The important issues are issues of budget.
“Despite all the noise you heard last week, we still passed an amendment to the INEC law that had been there for over six or seven years.
“By this time next week, our Committee on Petroleum will lay the PIB, which has never been done.
“We are focused on the major issues and we are not going to be distracted on that.
“We are still going to do our work.
“Today we were talking about meningitis, looking at how we are going to find funding for that.
“So, none of these issues are distracting us from that and I think we have shown that over the last few weeks.”
The National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on his part called for a ceasefire between the legislature and executive.
The chairman, who led the members of the National Working Committee to the meeting with the senators, spoke to newsmen after over three hours of closed door meeting called on the Senate and the executive to cease fire over recent misunderstanding between them.
He asked for mutual respect between the various arms of government to ensure sustainable development.
Odigie-Oyegun said: “One appeal I have to make that it is necessary is for all levels of government to maintain some level of respect and civility.
“And I appeal that as we start now the process of reconstructing relationships and consultations.
“There should be what I will call a ceasefire in terms of the kind of abuse that is used all round on one institution of government or the other even principal parties of these institutions.”
Odigie-Oyegun expressed optimism that though the meeting with the caucus was the first, such interactions would continue for the strengthening of the party and national development.
While commending the leaders of the National Assembly for speaking with one voice after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, he urged them to continue in that spirit for the entrenchment of democracy in the country.
He further commended the National Assembly for carrying out its constitutional duties in spite of the crises.
He said: “We have assurance that the budget is going on and is going on very well.
“The report I get, or the briefing I get from the Minister of Budget is that the National Assembly has been very cooperative in the interactions between both his ministry and other ministries.
“I want to pay tribute to the National Assembly for the degree of cooperation that they have been extending to the executive in spite of seeming differences on the surface.
“Secondly, I want to say that we have now completed our consultations with the National Assembly and we are going to move forward from now.
“Once that is done, I can assure you and assure the nation that in the next couple of weeks, we will have a new level of cohesion, cooperation and mutual respect between the different arms of government and the party.”
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