Speaker begs APC to bring back present National Assembly members in 2027

Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas called on the All Progressives Congress national leadership on Sunday to make sure that state legislators and present members of the National Assembly hold their seats in 2027.

Abbas contended that since legislation requires experience, continuity must be guaranteed.

He urged Abdullahi Ganduje, the APC National Chairman, to take advantage of his position to solve the high attrition rate in the state and national legislatures.

According to a Sunday statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, Abbas addressed the North-West APC stakeholders’ gathering in Kaduna.

Regarding the high turnover of National Assembly members, he added, “This is a great chance for you (Ganduje) to make sure that you do all humanly possible for existing (APC) members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to return in 2027.

There are others waiting, some may say. I must stress, nonetheless, that the National Assembly is an institution where one gets better the longer they serve in it.

Considering the elections of 2023, the North-West is in worse shape today. Maybe for this reason we did not receive the kind of attention we merited. Thus, let us make sure that the best of us are reelected. The capable ones need to be allowed to reappear in the National Assembly.

In order to bring the party members together across the country, the National Assembly Speaker also suggested that Ganduje establish reconciliation committees.

The APC needs to pull together after the general elections of last year, he said, and concentrate on governance.

“I want to call on the National Chairman and our party executive to ensure peaceful cohabitation among all party members,” Abbas stated. As other speakers have mentioned, we have several problems in every local government and in several states.

Draw a line, please. This is the period for government; elections are over. We ought to put the past behind us and hug and forgive one another.

“I want to suggest to the National Chairman and by extension, the National Vice Chairman, to, as a matter of urgency, constitute reconciliation committees for the zone and for every state to constitute the same reconciliation committees so that we may make peace and bring those that we may have offended back to the party.”Abbas said the zone should show its gratitude to President Bola Tinubu by tripling its efforts in 2027 for providing the North-West certain important roles.

“We appreciate that Mr. President thought the North-West deserving of several significant posts. The Speaker, the Deputy President of the Senate, and the National Chairman of our party are all coming out of the zone for the first time.

Whom much is given, much is expected of them. It is now our turn to thank Mr. President, to thank our party by making sure that we do all in our power to ensure that our people benefit from democracy; to make sure that the insecurity that has plagued our zone is brought to a logical end; and to make sure that in 2027, we double our efforts for the APC to do better in every ward, every local government, every state, and the nation at large.

“What I noticed is that attention is given to the party when elections are near,” he said, appealing to party leaders at all levels to uphold the party structures. Nothing changes or materialises following elections.

I humbly ask that we leaders always back our party, not only during elections. We can only ensure the success of our party in that manner.

We will meet with the party leadership in the North-West at the National Assembly to develop some support measures. During our most recent meeting, I have informed the National Chairman that we would contact each member to make sure that something is sent to the party each month to support it. All participants in the state caucuses should replicate the same.

“This is an opportunity for us in the North-West to sit down and bring up the areas that we can do better as a country,” said Speaker Abbas on the current constitution modification by the National Assembly.

“We want to see if we can replicate what we did in the 8th Assembly by empowering all our senators and honourable members to go back to their constituencies on an appointed date to interact with the people, giving them the areas of priority so that by the time we come back, every member will vote based on the mandate given by his people.”

State police, local government autonomy, women’s participation in politics and governance, and the function of traditional institutions were among the important issues the National Assembly recognised during the constitution revision, he said.

 

Alhaji Garba Muhammad, APC National Vice Chairman for the North-West zone, voiced worry in his speech over the current wave of suspensions inside the party.

“The wave of suspensions that has become a trend whereby the party, especially at ward level, purportedly suspends prominent party members is a fundamental issue that must be addressed,” he said. The most recent is Zamfara State.

We know that people posing as members of our party are causing the issues in the states of Kano and Zamfara, but who are the opposition parties’ moles?

Let me be very clear that, in accordance with our revised constitution, the National Working Committee has the last say after all levels of the party have followed proper process. No organ of the party has the authority to suspend members of the party.

Put otherwise, the NWC must be consulted before suspending a member of our party. Put plainly, these suspensions are illegal, void, and the status quo ante is maintained.Senator Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, emphasised the need of fostering internal democracy within the parameters of the party constitution, saying that in this manner, “friction will be lessened and litigation would be reduced.”

“What happens in our zone is of primary interest to other zones and Nigeria,” he declared. We must therefore constantly assess the state of the APC in the North-West zone in order to correct issues and reposition it for next elections.

“No human institution or organisation is immune to difficulties. Our readiness to identify and deal with our problems is what counts.

If everyone of us is dedicated to the aims and objectives of our party, we would be ready to put the group’s interests ahead of our own.

I implore everyone of us to always resolve urgent problems by consensus. Building and maintaining peace and togetherness is made easier by this win-win strategy.

Dikko Umaru Radda, the chairman of the North-West Governor’s Forum and governor of Katsina State, praised President Tinubu for directing infrastructure development to the zone and thanked National Assembly members from the zone for their contributions to the formation of the North-West Development Commission.

Attending the conference were Ganduje, the APC National Chairman; Aminu Bello Masari, the former governor of Katsina State; Malam Umar Namadi, the governor of Jigawa; Ahmad Sokoto, the governor of Kebbi State; and Barau Jibrin, the deputy president of the Senate.

Among others were Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Minister of Defence; Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and National Planning; Mallam Balarabe Abbas, Minister of Environment; Hajiya Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy; Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development; Bello Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence; Mariya Mahmoud, Minister of State for FCT; and Hajiya Hadiza Usman, Special Adviser on Policy Coordination to the President.