‘APC should face reality of N’Assembly leadership elections’

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Timi Frank, has urged the party to face the reality of the outcome of the National Assembly leadership elections and move on.

Frank said this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday. He explained that the party’s leadership had no one to blame other than itself for failing to take advantage of the almost two months it had after the party won the election.

The party’s deputy spokesman also noted that since the leadership elections in the National Assembly, there had been claims and counterclaims, which, he said, would exacerbate the crisis.

He noted that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, should be commended and not blamed by the APC.

Frank said, “Like I have said at numerous occasions and instances, the failure of the leadership of the party to do the right thing was due to its vested interest in who emerged as leaders of the National Assembly.

“The leadership of the APC and indeed party stalwarts must come to terms with this painful truth and begin to devise means of totally re-uniting the party.

“Attempts to continue pulling the wool over the eyes of Nigerians will do the party no good. Enough of the cry over this, now obvious spilt milk. It is time to unite as a party, make genuine reconciliation and move forward.

“Some members of the party have even blamed Senator Saraki for the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as the deputy senate president.”

According to him, while he was not holding brief for Saraki and Dogara, it would be best for Nigeria for the APC to speak the truth and set the records straight.

“While the leadership of the party had excess of over two months to harmonise all interests and positions for the National Assembly leadership, it allowed vested interest, acrimony and bitter politicking to thrive, so much so that it embarrassingly allowed the squabble to play right into the very day of inauguration where the party got its first shock since taking over the reins of governance of our great country,” he said.

Frank noted that the party could have lost the Senate presidency if Saraki and his other APC colleagues had not been in the Senate chambers on the day of inauguration.

He said that the PDP would have claimed the Senate President’s seat.

This, he argued, would have been so because the 59 senators present during the plenary session where the leadership of the Senate was elected, 49 of the members seated were of the PDP.

“Senator Bukola Saraki should not be blamed for the travails of the APC as he saved the party on that fateful day. He indeed deserves commendation and not condemnation,” he said.