The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of
the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi
Frank, was on African Independent
Television (AIT) live current affairs
programme, Focus Nigeria, on Monday,
June 29, 2015, where he spoke on the crisis
rocking the APC over National Assembly’s
presiding and principal offices. Ismail
Omipidan, who monitored the session,
brings the excerpts:
On emergence of Saraki
APC should be grateful to the PDP that we
got the Senate Presidency. They (PDP)
could have nominated themselves to be
Senate President and Deputy Senate
President; and you cannot take that from
them.
We should thank PDP for what they did, for
being democratic. They knew they were not
in the ruling party, so they respected
themselves by making sure an APC Senate
President emerged. They unanimously gave
their support to Bukola Saraki since we only
had about seven or eight APC Senators in
the Senate as at the time.
I see no reason anybody should blame
Saraki for what has happened. We should
be happy that he was there to, at least,
save the situation at that time. If he wasn’t
there, the situation could have been
different.
What and who took 51 senators to
International Conference Centre?
The question we should be asking is: Who
asked 51 senators to go to the
International Conference Centre? What did
they go there to do? I don’t know who
called for that meeting, as a party man. We
should not blame Saraki for becoming
Senate President. We should put the blame
on the party and whosoever that called that
meeting. Has the president come out to tell
Nigerians that he called for a meeting but
Senator Saraki wasn’t there? Even the
president wasn’t at the International
Conference Centre. Why did you expect
Saraki to be there?
Everybody is saying that the president
called (for a meeting), the president called;
okay, who gave the directive for the
meeting. So, this is the big question; the
very critical question we should be asking.
For God’s sake, what must have dragged
51 senators to the International Conference
Centre? They should be asking themselves
what took them there. As far as I am
concerned, this is the way God has
designed it. So, we shouldn’t question God.
Any deal between Saraki and PDP?
To the best of my knowledge, this is a
contest between two political leaders in the
same party. Both of them were banking on
the support of PDP Senators, because APC
Senators alone could not have made them
Senate President. What happened was a
victory for democracy, a victory for the
people. You can’t take it away. The Senate
or House (of Representatives) is an
independent House. These people decide on
what they want. They go for what they are
comfortable with.
What about Ekweremadu’s emergence as
Deputy Senate President?
On the issue of how Ekweremadu emerged
as the Deputy Senate President, for God’s
sake, PDP felt that, well, we had given
them the Senate Presidency unanimously.
We are not trying to be greedy. We are
trying to respect democracy.
One of the APC Senators that was present
contested alongside Ekweremadu but lost.
Not that they just asked Ekweremadu to be
the Deputy Senate President. No! It was
live on TV. PDP senators were more in
number. So, they voted for one of their
own. At the end of the day, Ekweremadu
emerged as the Deputy President of the
Senate.
Are you upset with your party?
I am upset. My party caused our loss of
Deputy Senate Presidency. How I wish all
the senators were there, there is no way we
wouldn’t have got the Deputy Senate
Presidency. We don’t need to be blaming
Ekweremadu and so forth. If it were
anybody from my party or even myself, I
would take advantage of the situation that
was on ground.
Today, the man is Deputy Senate President
to Saraki. But he is just a Deputy Senate
President. What can he do to frustrate my
party? There is nothing he can do, because
we have an active Senate President.
God has done his part. We can’t question
God. So, my party should live with it. They
can also come up with whatever strategy
they feel like. But, Ekweremadu didn’t just
put himself there. My party caused it. So,
we should accept the defeat.
I think we should not have gotten involved
in the whole drama in the first place. Saraki
is a member of the APC. Senator Lawan is
a member of the APC. Everyone involved is
a member of the APC. No one is more loyal
to the party than the other. But as a party,
we have not done well. We treated Dogara
and Saraki as if they were half-casts of the
party.
What is your take on the issue of principal
officers?
This whole internal crises, the party
leadership caused it. In the process of
trying to take sides, we misfired. The party
zoned the Senate Leader to the North East.
Fine! But the party should have left it at
that, not saying a particular person has to
be this. As soon as the party zoned the
office, the party should have left it for the
zone to come up with the candidate. Like
Ahmed Lawan, if the party had not gone
ahead to stick out his name, maybe they
would have gone ahead to say, Senator
Ahmed lost the Senate President seat, let
us leave this for him. But again, the party
provoked the people of that zone by writing
names.
What Nigerians are trying to say is this: the
issue of godfatherism is gone. The issue of
saying this must happen is gone. The
independence of the House and Senate is
what we need. There is no way Saraki
could have read the party’s letter. The
majority voice in that zone had already
written to say this is whom we want. The
party must accept failure at this point in
time and build from the mistakes we have
made.
What happens to party supremacy?
I agree that party supremacy has come to
stay. But again, since party supremacy is
now the issue of the day, I expect the
national leadership to write the list of
ministers and their portfolios and give to
the President to announce. The state party
chairmen must write the names of the
commissioners and SAs and give to the
state governors to announce. That way, we
will know that party supremacy has come
to stay. Not just to enforce it on the Senate
and House of Representatives. Otherwise
they should allow the Senate to be. They
should also allow the House of
Representative to be.

Culled from http://sunnewsonline.com/new/senate-presidency-we-should-be-grateful-to-pdp-says-apc-deputy-publicity-scribe/

Ok

.

K

Of Course Yes

When did the party zone the positions

INTROVERT:
Ok

Girl you be MTN o! I fear you o jare!

Ok

They are the Masters in the Game!!!


Admit it or Die!!

LegisLOOTERS

wq

Its high time citizens pay due homage to PDP for its works.
We are yet to be certain on where the regime of APC and Buhari is leading us, presumably not into an unforeseen disaster.

If not for the PDP significant seats in the house, the National Assembly would have turned to a rubber stamp similar to what we see in State Assemblies. Buhari would have been granted full and unlimited powers and NASS will be no different from the German Reichstag of 1933 which gave Hitler supreme powers.

headache

God bless u. Bitter truth.
i love d last point that says can d party nominate ministers for buhari to proof supremacy of d party?
People who composed this change slogan are d same people that fail to sing along with us.

GOD bless You... he said the truth... Dis is d only person has spoken concerning this matter without being Partisan

So on point.

Noise makers

Click like if u feel they should start ruling and stop making noise

That's a sensible man talking.

I agree with this but if the party cannot appoint names of house leaders to the legislative arm of the government, I don't see why they should send names to the executive arm of the government.

In other words, if the party is to give the zones in which key leaders should go to inthe legislative arm, then they should do same (not names) to the executive.

Smart PDP knew that supporting a faction of the APC as SP would pay better than having a PDP SP. That would have united the APC and lead to the impeachment of the PDP SP. It paid out because APC is presently in absolute chaos.

Una never see shum chin. Akiceeeeee chanjiiii.

Dey shld tell dat to opolo eyes(tinumbu)

LEFT....

Saraki stooge laundering the image of his oga. We are not impressed! Try harder next time, inugo?

A reasonable man has spoken!! Other APC people should learn from his ideology we are not apcerian we are Nigerians (a country) not a Party(APC).

ilovelikes:
Noise makers

Click like if u feel they should start ruling and stop making noise

I checked on your dp &discovered why u love likes . Is that the "real" you?

Na true. They know it would not work out which was why they did not take that opportunity when it came !!!

Thank you Mr Timi Frank. PdP showing APC favors since 1886