PDP may hijack NASS leadership, Nabena raises alarm

Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th Assembly, deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Yekeen Nabena has warned against a repeat of loss of grounds in the leadership of the national assembly.

Speaking with newsmen at the weekend in Abuja, the APC spokesman cautioned the Presidency against the indifference to the power game for leadership of the national assembly, a complacency he noted led to the duo of Senator Bukola Saraki and Honourable Yakubu Dogara of the New Peoples Democratic Party, (nPDP) emerging as Senate President and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

Nabena called on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency unveiled an inclusive and fair internal zoning/selection arrangement to enable the APC caucus to produce all its preferred principal officers for the incoming Senate and House of Representatives.

He declared that the main opposition party was waiting in the wing to repeat its feat of 2015 when it produced Senate President, Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He further alleged that hijack of the leadership of that strategic arm of government was part of the key decisions the PDP took at its retreat held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate capital.

He said: “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost the presidential election and they have now adopted a plan B from their infamous Dubai strategy meeting to hijack the incoming National Assembly leadership by repeating their heinous coup in the previous Assembly.

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“The All Progressives Congress (APC) must prevent a repeat of a situation where despite our overwhelming majority in the outgoing 8th Senate and House of Representatives, the National Assembly leadership was hijacked by saboteurs and their opposition PDP collaborators.

“Nigerians will recall how the outgoing 8th National Assembly under Bukola Saraki sabotaged the present administration in pursuit of selfish political interest of the PDP. But for the principled, focussed and dogged governance of President Muhammadu Buhari, many of the unprecedented developmental achievements recorded would have been completely sabotaged.

“The National Assembly is a strategic arm of government to achieve the Change Agenda for the country. I call on the party’s leadership to urgently set out mechanisms for the zoning/selection of our preferred principal officers who will join the President Buhari administration in implementing our Change Agenda.

“Aside being President, Muhammadu Buhari is a respected father figure among party members and supporters. His direct involvement and views will be very important as the Party works around the zoning/selection arrangements, ” Nabena further argued.