National chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has called all warring parties in the Executive-Senate face-off to ceasefire, even as Senate president, Bukola Saraki, has insisted that the legislative institution must be respected.
This comes as the Senate has foreclosed the recall of the former Senate leader, Ali Ndume, from his six months suspension.
At a meeting between the APC leadership and APC Senate caucus in Abuja on Tuesday, Oyegun called on all parties to sheath their sword.
Speaking with newsmen after a meeting, which lasted for over three hours, he said: “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.”
In a swift reaction, Saraki called for respect of institutions by government officials, even as he parried question on the six months suspension of Ali Ndume, saying it was a distraction.
Citing the amended Electoral Act passed by the Senate last week and the report on the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, which would soon be laid, he assured that the Senate would continue to put national interest above personal interest.
“Some of these issues that we have, I don’t believe that more fundamental issues are important to our people; issue 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.
“Stakeholders must respect our institutions. These institutions are there now and they are going to be there after and we should not allow our selfish interest to enable us to try and ridicule the institutions. The institution is what we have and we must ensure that we respect that,” Saraki said.
This is the first time the APC leadership is paying an official visit to the Senate APC caucus, after the controversial June 9, 2015 inauguration of the 8th Senate.
The face-off between the two arms of government had led the upper legislative chamber to suspend consideration of President Buhari’s 27 nominees for Resident Electoral Commissioners in protest against Ibrahim Magu’s continued stay in office as the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Lawmakers had declined to confirm Magu as substantive chairman of the anti-graft office after two requests by the President.
They also protested alleged disrespect of the National Assembly by appointees of the President.
The Senate has been locked in prolonged supremacy battle with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali.
Both Lawal and Ali declined separate summons of the Senate, over issues bordering on alleged corruption and alleged non-compliance with official dress code, respectively.
