By Saminu Ibrahim
The All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the National Assembly on Wednesday rejected and dissociated itself from all and any inflammatory statements that appear to threaten the authority of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC.
Indeed, the Caucus strongly and unreservedly expressed supports for the administration of President Buhari, saying it will continue to work in addressing the economic, health, social, security and other challenges that beset the nation.
The APC Caucus was responding to a statement issued by the Minority Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday read by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe.
Rising from the caucus meeting, the senators assured Nigerians that President Buhari is in charge of government and is discharging his duties conscientiously and patriotically.
“It is a well-known fact that the Federal Government under the PDP refused to invest in the security infrastructure of the country while Mr. President under the APC led Government had massively invested in this regard more than any past governments and we are confident that the nation will surmount its current security challenges”.
Communique at the end of the meeting and read by Senate leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi said the APC Caucus totally reject the many incorrect statement contained in the said press release by the minority caucus.
He lamented that the statement by the PDP Caucus has gone too far, given the good working relationship in the 9th Assembly and especially with the Minority Caucus.
The APC Caucus emphasised that in any democracy, the rights to present criticisms and concerns on the state of the nation’s affairs are unassailable.
“While we respect such rights; which come with obligation and responsibility, we are concerned that the statement issued by the Minority Cucus is capable of over- heating an already charged polity in which men of good conscience and patriotism are expected to act as leaders and Statesmen”.
It continued: “While we acknowledge the natural disposition of playing politics, we are worried and disturbed that our colleagues are playing with lives. The unfortunate state of insecurity; for which the Senate has continuously debated and issued resolutions to support the actions of the executive under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari in the overriding interest of the public, is too delicate to play with.
“In all our deliberations, the entire Senate including the minority had discussed exhaustively in a very robust, transparent and patriotic flavor to arrive at our concrete resolutions. A case in point is the current invitation to engage the service chiefs.
“Furthermore, we take exception to the unfortunate charge that our President has not been seen. This is false and cheap politics. Mr. President and service – chiefs are meticulously busy every day and every night in deliberations with a view to addressing the security challenges across the entire country.
“Similarly, Mr. President had always made statement to Nigerians on all major security incidences and assuring Nigerians and indeed the international community that he would continue to do his best in making sure that the security challenges are tackled head-on.
“We want to assure Nigerians that Mr. President is in charge of government and is discharging his duties conscientiously and patriotically. It is a well-known fact that the Federal Government under the PDP refused to invest in the security infrastructure of the country while Mr. President under the APC led Government had massively invested in this regard more than any past governments and we are confident that the nation will surmount its current security challenges.
“Furthermore, it must be noted that the global economy is in turmoil triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and Nigeria’s is not an exception. The Federal Government is aware of the challenges and is working to massively get the economy working for Nigerians through agricultural intervention projects, infrastructure development projects and social interventions to reduce the pains of the economic downturn on ordinary Nigerians”.
The APC Caucus therefore asked for support and continuous constructive criticisms as envisaged by the tenets of participatory democracy.
