Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, will meet with the APC leaders and lawmakers-elect on Monday, March 13, 2023. The meeting is to discuss the zoning of National Assembly (NASS) leadership. The meeting will hold at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. It is exclusively for the APC Lawmakers-elect from the just presidential and national assembly elections.
According to a source close to the APC secretariat, the party is taking precautions to prevent a repeat of the 2015 “civilian coup”. That was when the former Senate President Bukola Saraki and former Speaker of the House Yakubu Dogara chose their own interests over the party. The APC is wary of power brokers and external forces hijacking the next National Assembly. It wants to ensure that the President-elect and the ruling party have a say in who leads the NASS.
The APC National Working Committee confirms the the agenda of the meeting. The Committee stated that the conference would address the issue of NASS leadership. This will help to prevent politicians from spending money to woo their colleagues for their ambitions. President Buhari is aware of the meeting but will not be attending. This to avoid limit of the number of attendees and prevent unauthorized persons from attending.
The meeting invitation, signed by APC National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, stated:
Guests must come alone and bring their Certificates of Return issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The meeting is strictly on invitation and is set to begin at 2 pm prompt on March 13, 2023. All guests are expected to arrive early for screening and seating before 12 noon.
Tweet from APC Twitter Handle
In quoted dialogue, the anonymous source said:
“The President-elect will not stand by like the current President and allow power seekers and enemies to hijack the National Assembly. It is not in the interest of the President-elect and not in the interest of the ruling party as well.”
The APC wants to avoid a repeat of the Saraki-Dogara coup and ensure that the party’s interests are upheld.
