NASS Crisis Would Soon Be Forgotten – Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, says the ongoing crisis in Nigeria’s National Assembly over the choice of principal officers will soon be a thing of the past.

Addressing reporters after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, alongside Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, Oshiomhole said the meeting they had with the warring Senators on Sunday evening was useful.

“I feel the position now is ‘look how do you ensure that having elected this two (Senate President and his Deputy), that the remaining position that are within the discretion of the APC caucus in the Senate are distributed in a way as to give the other group that were shut out of the process a sense of belonging?

“We are convinced that a winner-takes-all in this case won’t work and building peace is making concession and power works better when it acknowledges that even the person who is powerless has a right to exist,” the Edo State Governor said.

Oshiomhole told reporters that he had met with President Buhari to brief him on how their meeting with the Senators went.

“My brother (Bagudu) and I spent some time with the senators last night (Sunday) and we had what I think was a useful conversation. We have come today to report to the President what transpired at the meeting and make few suggestions to him and I think for me there is light, as they say, at the end of the tunnel.

“One thing is clear, we are all APC family, we are all committed to change. We recognise that there are few issues; people may not be comfortable, but we have what it takes to resolve the issues so that in the National Assembly we will have an APC Senate caucus that is united, that is ready to support the change agenda as the President is committed to and work along with PDP.

“Nobody is suggesting that we shouldn’t work with PDP. PDP exists in the House, just as APC had existed in the House under PDP government. So, at some point there has to be a way to engage bipartisan. So, that is basically why we are here,” Governor Oshiomhole stated.

The National Assembly has been embroiled in crisis following the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party as Deputy Senate President.

The party had nominated Governor Oshiomhole and his Kebbi State counterpart, to mediate between the warring Senators.