Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Saturday declared that time will determine his position in the affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Saraki noted that although he does not want to dwell on the issue of whether he is still wanted in APC or not, he said “time will tell what happens.”
The Senate President made the declaration at a farewell dinner for delegates of the International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress which he hosted in Abuja.
The Senate President was responding to a comment by the Chairman, Daily Trust Newspapers, Kabiru Yusuf, who praised him for going to Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj, went to Russia where he addressed the Russian parliament and returned home to attend the APC convention “a party to which he belongs but which increasingly does not belong to him.”
Saraki appeared to have been taken aback by the remark that he “belongs to APC but increasingly the party does not belong to him.”
He said, “Kabiru made a comment and said that he welcomes me as a member of the party and further said he is not sure if the party welcomes me as much as I welcome them.
“I am not going to comment on that because I will be here all night commenting on that. I won’t like to be the front-page story but time will tell on that.
“Already, based on this comment, I know most newspapers headline would be time will tell. So I won’t be surprised if I check This Day newspapers and I see: The Senate President says time will tell.”
On the IPI World Congress in Africa, Saraki expressed hope that in the near future Africa will receive nod to host it again.
He also expressed pleasure that the world’s best journalists, editors and media executives converged in Nigeria to explore the theme – ‘Why Good Journalism Matters: Quality Media For Strong Societies’.
…charges new APC excos on unity, justice
The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has charged new National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, and his National Working Committee (NWC) to work and restore unity in the party.
Mr Saraki gave the charge in his remarks at the closing of the party’s National Convention in Abuja on Sunday.
He said that as the party looked to the future, the NWC should look back to 2015 and recall how it won against the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The senator noted that some important members of the party were absent at the convention and that there was need to bring everybody back on board.
He said that the party could replicate the successes of 2015, and that there was need for party members to work together as a team.
Mr Saraki acknowledged that there were challenges in the party and that it was the responsibility of the leadership to address them.
“There are people who are supposed to be here but are not here today; we need everybody for us to work together.
“I have confidence in the new National Chairman and I hope he will bring all members together,” he said.
On his part, Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, urged the new leadership of the APC to ensure that there was justice for the weak and the strong in the party.
Mr Dogara said that there were no challenges that defied solutions, adding that with a deeper search, solutions to all the challenges confronting the party and the nation would be found.
He pointed out that for APC to make progress and deliver on its promises there must be unity in the party which could only be achieved with justice.
“We know that President Muhammadu Buhari stands for justice and he stands for the common man and his strength has been the common man.
“It is therefore very important that the leadership of the newly elected executives create equal opportunities for the weak and the strong.”
Mr Dogara maintained that without conflict there could not be progress but that it was incumbent on the leadership at all times to proffer solutions to challenges.
“I charge you also to maintain the culture of democracy which is conflict, compromise, consensus and progress.
“Without conflict there cannot be progress and as a matter of fact, the escalation of constructive conflict is good for our progress.
“The management of this conflict is what will lead to further progress in our party and the nation,” he said.
The speaker stated that the APC under Mr Buhari had done a lot but that there was still more to be done.
He said that the destiny of the nation was great, adding that “where we are going to is far superior to what we are going through”.
