By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The All Progressive Congress (APC) Senate caucus has backed the drive towards a consensus arrangement ahead of the Party’s National Convention scheduled for Saturday in Abuja.
Briefing journàlists yesterday at the party Secretariat after a meeting between the caucus and the chairman of APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, disclosed this, saying there may not be any real contest.
According to him “The next two days I said from the beginning we must get everything spot on and not for anyone to cause any problem. As I speak we are trying to achieve consensus all over the states and the zones and by the time we get to the election ground, I’m sure there will be very few elective offices that will be required to be contested because we would have achieved consensus.”
Lawan, who led other APC senators to the meeting, said they came to show solidarity with the leaders and members of the Caretaker Convention Planning Committee, adding that they have done so well over the years, adding “This is two days away from the convention.”
“The senate APC caucus are happy with the way they have been running our party for the past two years. They have done so well and deserve our continuous support for the standout commitment, dedication and loyalty.
“We as a party feels that this is the moment that is critical to the existence of APC and Nigeria. We need to get the convention right. We need to have a very successful convention where we will elect our leaders that will run the affairs of this party for the next four years.
“Therefore, every hand must be on deck and so what we have done today is to say our hands are available to be on deck as well. We are happy that the party received us so well as it has always done.
“The chairman of the Convention Planning Committee had expressed his total commendation to the Senate caucus for not just being members, but strong financial members of this party. We believe that morally, also we have contributed greatly to the existence of this party.
“I believe strongly that in a way the National Assembly APC caucus, let me put the two chambers together, can be said to be responsible for the stable government we have in this country today.
“We have been working with Mr President so peacefully, cordially and what you see today in Nigeria is to tell you that the relationship between the two arms of government in the APC administration and the villa and the national assembly have provided a climate whereby every other party in the opposition are doing what they think they should do freely.
“So, I want to thank my colleagues for ensuring that our party remains stable in the National Assembly and our administration continues to succeed. We wish the convention planning committee all the best”, Lawan said.
