DESPITE being accused of allowing
the crises rocking both chambers of the National Assembly to fester, some
leading voices in the All Progressives Congress, APC, are believed to posses
the magic wand needed to prevent the now rambunctious legislature from
derailing
After months in which party
leaders have prevaricated in the name of loyalty and indiscipline, it is
expected that those, who wield influence decisively engage in trouble shooting
for public good.
It is so given the obvious
inability of the legislators to find a common ground thereby taking the crisis
to epic proportion at the expense of the business of law making.
Those whose influence can help to
urgently resolve the festering National Assembly crises include President Muhammadu Buhari; former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar; National Leader of the party,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal; APC National
Chairman, Chief Odigie Oyegun; Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki; Speaker
of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Senator Ahmad Lawan and Mr.
Femi Gbajabiamila among others.
Ironically, most of these leading
voices being looked upon had been variously accused of remotely dragging the
party to this critical point.
In the thinking of many, the APC
found itself at the crossroads because of the failure of these leaders to take
advantage of the time lag between March 28, 2015 when it won the presidential
election and June 9 when the National Assembly had its leadership elections, to chart a course for the lawmakers.
It is this belief in their
influential capacity which cut across ethnic, religious and party
boundaries that informed the latest
thinking among observers that except they get involved, the APC crisis would in
no distant time become an existential problem.
Time for concessions
President Muhammadu Buhari;
Saraki, Senate President and Dogara, Speaker
President Muhammadu Buhari;
Saraki, Senate President and Dogara, Speaker
Speaking in that regard,
President of the Coalition For Good
Governance and Accountability, Comrade Michael Agbazilo, told Vanguard : ‘’APC
leaders need to act now, else, the party would be doomed. The Senate will resume
plenary next week and the crisis is escalating by the day. The leaders in question here are the actual
people who can stop this madness.
‘’I am not in doubt that if they
apply the principle of collective guilt, the madness will be resolved for the
sake of Buhari, who is the only Nigerian President who has exhibited the
willingness to serve. My submission does not mean that other ongoing peace
moves like that of the governors’ committee will not yield result. However, we
should not lose sight of the fact that the governors often have parochial
interest. Battles are hardly won at the war front, so this is the time for
dialogue and concession. Every camp should make sacrifices for the issues at
stake to be addressed.”
Buhari
Being a man of principled
disposition, no one expected Buhari to
have his imprints on the matter
particularly having said earlier that he was going to work with whoever emerges
as leaders of the NASS.
However, in the argument of some,
the President’s neutrality in no small ways, may have added up to the scale of
the impasse.
In putting forward this position,
analysts relied on past instances when former President Olusegun Obsanjo, even
at the risk of desecrating the doctrine of separation powers, had influence in
who became what in the NASS.
It is in that light that some want
the President to cautiously wade in to make a difference in the crises that
could have devastating effect on the direction of his administration.
As the leader of the party,
reining in would also put to rest the feelings that he is being indifferent to
an issue that may constitute a mortal dent on the APC.
Atiku
Atiku was alleged to have backed
Saraki and Dogara against the wish of party chieftains on allegations that his
presidential aspiration received less support from certain party leaders.
Though the former Vice President
had distanced himself from the emergence of the duo, some still hold contrary
opinion. Not even when he was among the
few core party chieftains, who congratulated the duo when they emerged in the
controversial contests.
As his party was contesting the
legitimacy of the elections, Atiku
congratulated Saraki,
admonishing him to see their elections beyond narrow interests.
Discountenancing allegations
against him, Atiku maintained that it is legitimate for individuals to pursue their
interest. He is seen by observers as a high impact member of the APC whose
decisive involvement could ensure normalcy.
Analysts see him as wielding the
political appeal required to pioneer private and public dialogue towards saving
APC.
Tinubu
Former Vice President and
presidential aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar and
national leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at the declaration of rally of
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday.
National leader of APC, Bola
Ahmed Tinubu and Former Vice President , Atiku Abubakar
No matter what some think of him,
Tinubu has become legendary in Nigerian politics, particularly following his
immense contribution to the sustenance of multi-party democracy since 1999.
Ever since the crises started,
Tinubu, who had favoured the party’s choice of Senator Ahmad Lawan and
Gbajabiamila as Senate President and House Speaker respectively, had never
hidden his support for party supremacy on the matter.
Given the fact that he boasts of
inestimable leverage on party matters, the former Lagos State governor is key
to the search for peace.
In looking up to him at this
time, observers maintain that the APC national leader should not stand and
watch helplessly while the party they built is being threatened by avoidable
controversies and mudslinging that might lead to disintegration. Hence, the
unanimous call on him to rise to the challenges of returning the party to the
path of sanity and discipline in order to restore the confidence reposed in it
by Nigerians.
Tambuwal
As someone, who emerged under
similar circumstance as the speaker of the House of Representatives in 2011,
Tambuwal is better placed to know how best to wriggle out of the attendant
legislative crises.
Aside that, he is still seen as a
rallying point in the House, a situation that had manifested in the various
trouble-shooting and perhaps unseen roles he
played in the imbroglio.
Having congratulated the NASS
leadership after the contest, many were hardly in doubt about where he stood on
the matter.
Tambuwal had said the emergence
of Saraki and Dogara indicated that democracy had come of age in Nigeria and
that the doctrine of the independence of the legislature is gradually taking
firm root.
Oyegun
Despite the presence of some
powerful party figures, the buck stops on Oyegun’s desk as the national
chairman.
It is this incontrovertible
notion that attracted blames to him immediately after the controversial polls. He was accused of allowing the leadership
crises to fester to the point where Saraki and Dogara routinely ignored party
directives.
Having committed so much to the
eventual victory of the party at the presidential election, Oyegun is one of
the strong forces and rallying points needed to ensure that all grievances
are amicably resolved.
Saraki
To observers, any peace move in
the party would be meaningless if the Senate President, who is the central
character plays less decisive role.
Being at the centre of the
impasse gives him all the aces to end or aggravate the crisis.
Apart from his position, Saraki,
as a big player in the polity with influence beyond party lines, has the requisite contacts and power to
salvage the party.
Dogara
Like Saraki, an end to the
impasse may not be in sight if Dogara and his opponents fail to have a point of
convergence through sacrifice and concession.
As a way out, he recently
insisted that principal offices be shared according to NASS tradition which is always guided by the principle of
federal character.
Credit: Vanguard
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