By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
As the country awaits Presidential Assent to the Electoral Act Amendments Bill, Chairman of the National Assembly and Senate President, Ahmed Lawan on Monday met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Although Senator Lawan was evasive on the subject of discussion between him and the President, it may not be unconnected with the Electoral Act Amendment Bill which was recently passed by the two arms of National Assembly and has been transmitted to the President for his Assent.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the closed doors meeting with President Buhari, Lawan said he was on a routine visit to the seat of government when asked why he was at the State House.
“Well, I have come to meet Mr. President. You know, our engagement with Mr. President is a continuous one. And as a leader of the country and as leader of our party, there are so many things that we can come here to consult with Mr. President, had engagement with him on the current situation, in the National Assembly. We are doing in our budget and we hope that by the middle of December, or before Christmas, we should be able to consider and pass the budget by the grace of God. Work has reached a very commendable level, as we expected on that”.
“Also, you know that we have impending issues in our party. We have our congresses still to be conducted in few states about two or three. And of course, going forward, how we are able to reconcile the different shades of opinions that disagree in the party, and you will call that the party, with the endorsement of Mr. President, had constituted a National Conciliation Committee under the Chairmanship of Distinguished Senator Abdullahi Adamu….”, Lawan explained.
Speaking further on his presence at the State House, the Senate President said: “You also know that we have legislation that are awaiting the consideration of Mr. President, and for us in the legislature, we’ve finished our job of passing the bills, particularly the Electoral Act, Amendment Bill, is now for Mr. President, to engage with his assistants and those who normally advise him, for him to take the next most appropriate action”.
“We want this administration, and President Muhammadu Buhari to continue to do the very good work it is doing across the country and consolidate at the end of his tenure. Before then, we are very hopeful that we are able to have projects, the legacy projects commission like the second Niger bridge, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway, the Lagos-Ibadan, and, of course, this kind of projects, we want to ensure that we are able to get them commissioned by Mr. President.
“So we discussed a lot of things, both in government in the party. And of course, the security situation in the country can never escape our discussions. And we believe that we have done far so well, in the northeast, we have done far so well in the south south, especially the Niger Delta. And our challenge is in the Northwest, and we are determined to ensure that we give the government every possible support”.
According to Lawan: “Mr. President wants to ensure that before he leaves, that the Northwest like the other parts of this country would experience better stability than we’re enjoying today. So on the whole, it’s not something new that I come to see, Mr. President, there are so many things that when we see Mr. President, we tell him what we feel and what we should do. But of course, he has his own advisers, but he hears the perspective of the legislature as well. And I’m very happy that Mr. President is so available to us each time we want to see him to discuss matters of governance, matters of our party, and of course, matters that go even beyond those two areas, but I’m happy that what we have discussed are things that will make this country better”.
Asked if he is aware that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) who are critical stakeholders are not happy with the Bill, specifically the Direct Primaries mode of electing party candidates across board, the Senate President said such disagreements are bound to happen.
Said he: “Well, I don’t know, when you say on the Bill on mode of election, whether it’s a provision in the Bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill? Well, you see, sometimes this kind of disagreements happen. And when they do, I think the best way forward is for people to engage. I always believe, and I’ve canvassed for this, that National Assembly members are major stakeholders, governors of APC, major stakeholders.
“And in fact, the Presidency is a major stakeholder, in fact, as the biggest stakeholder because it runs the administration, and our party must always try to bring everybody together. I don’t think there will be any day that you will have a political issue that everybody will say the same thing about it that agrees with you without any amendment.
“So when we have any section of a party disagreeing with something we should be engaging that’s why we are politicians, we must have that kind of a platform where we discuss the issues, let’s understand each other, and then we make whatever it is that will make this disagreement minimized. Or maybe were possible, eliminated completely.
“So I don’t think it is right to say that governors have disagreed. Maybe some governors might have said they don’t like it this way. But that’s normal. So it’s for us to engage and engage and engage. And I believe that”.
