Divisive Motions As Tinubu Meets APC Leaders, Lawmakers-elect Over NASS Leadership  

By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab

Nigeria’s President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, would meet with the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and lawmakers-elect on Monday, March 13, 2023, National Watch learnt.

Though the agenda of the meeting is still sketchy as of reporting time, a source privy to the meeting at the APC secretariat told newsmen that the party stakeholders and president-elect are expected to deliberate on the zoning of the National Assembly (NASS) leadership.

The source told the National Watch  on anonymity that the meeting scheduled to hold at the State House in Abuja tomorrow would involve senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect on the APC platform in the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections.

“We feel that this was a frantic effort to avoid a repeat of the coup that brought in Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House in 2015, respectively, respectively,” the source told reporters.

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The source said the party was wary of the “ghost of the civilian coup” executed by Saraki and Dogara in 2015, which, according to him, was still haunting the ruling party. He said the situation could have been averted if both politicians had considered party supremacy ahead of their selfish interests.

National Watch understands the invitation to the meeting was earlier confirmed on the official Twitter page of the APC on Saturday evening.

Another copy of the meeting invitation signed by APC National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, which journalists obtained, requested the guests to come along with the Certificates of Return issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after they were declared winners in the February 25th presidential and national assembly elections.

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The invitation read, “This is to inform all Senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that they are invited to a parley with the party’s national leadership.

“The meeting, which the President-elect and Vice President-elect will attend, will be held at the State House Banquet Hall, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. Senators/House of Representatives-elect must come to the meeting with their Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Certificates of Return and must come alone.

“The meeting is strictly on invitation. Date: Monday, 13th of March, 2023. Time: 2 pm prompt. Venue: State House Banquet Hall, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. All guests are expected to arrive early to allow for screening and be seated before 12 noon.”

Confirming the agenda of the meeting, a member of the APC NWC, who spoke to National Watch on condition of anonymity, said, “The conference is going to deal with the issue of who leads the next National Assembly. You know we cannot stand aloof and allow everyone to continue spending money in wooing their colleagues for their ambitions.

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“We are also trying to prevent power brokers and external forces from hijacking the next National Assembly. The President-elect will not stand by like the current President and allow power seekers and enemies to hijack the National Assembly. It is not in the interest of the President-elect and not in the interest of the ruling party as well.

“Yes, the President is aware of the meeting but is not attending. We took the meeting to the Villa to limit the number of attendees and prevent those not invited and also our enemies from coming.”

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