9th Assembly: PDP lawmakers not needed to elect NASS leaders – APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress has reiterated its position that federal lawmakers elected on the party’s platform do not need the support of their colleagues from the Peoples Democratic Party to elect the National Assembly leaders.

It said the APC lawmakers could only reach out to their counterparts from the PDP when there was a need for two-thirds of the members of the parliament to take a decision.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu,said this in an interview with newsment while reacting to the belief in some quarters that his recent press statement saying that APC lawmakers seeking positions of presiding officers were free to lobby their PDP colleagues was contradictory to the position of the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, who was quoted as saying APC members would not share power with the PDP lawmakers, who he described as “devils.”
But Issa-Onilu said there was nothing wrong or contradictory in the position the party took on the leadership of the National Assembly.

He explained that the party does not need PDP lawmakers to elect leaders, since the APC is in the majority.
He however said the ruling party would be reaching out to the opposition party whenever two-thirds of members are needed.

The party spokesman said, “What I said and what the chairman said are the same because we agreed before both of us talked.
“What we are saying is that we have the majority and we don’t need the PDP lawmakers to elect our national officers.

“But there will be times that we may need two-thirds of members. When we need two-thirds, we have to reach out. That is the time the opposition anywhere in the world also wait for and make demands, otherwise they will withhold their support.

“But once you are using simple majority for anything, we don’t need them.”
Issa-Onilu said there was no way there could be unity between the PDP and the APC lawmakers in the National Assembly since the ideologies of the two parties are different.

He said the party did not tell Nigerians during campaigns that it would be working with the PDP to deliver its campaign promises.

He argued that if Nigerians wanted the APC and the PDP to work together, they would have asked the two parties to merge.