By Abdullahi Mohammed
Senators Ahmed Lawan and George Akume emerged as the All Progressive Congress,APC candidates for senate president and deputy senate president for the 8th National Assembly. They were elected on Saturday at the International Conference Centre , Abuja.
It was a one sided contest as the two candidates were unopposed because of the absence of the other faction comprising senators loyal to Bukola Saraki.
The APC national secretary Mallam Ibrahim Bala Gubi who was the presiding officer, declared senator Ahmed Lawan the winner of the vote for the senate president and senator Akume the deputy having satisfied and produced all the requirements of the party ‘s votes cast as the sole candidates for the office of the senate president and deputy.
Senator Lawan in his acceptance speech said ” this is history in the making , change has come to Nigeria and our party is exhibiting change on all its activities. There is no doubt that the National Working Committee of our party has distinctly conducted the process and procedure of bringing out the candidates for the offices of the senate president and deputy senate president and of course before now there was a similar process that produced the candidate for speaker of the House of representatives and the deputy speaker of the House,” he explained.
Dr Lawal showed gratitude ” I want to thank this working committee for giving all of us the opportunity to aspire and I want to add here that the process has been very very transparent, we have the confidence that the national working committee would go ahead to bring everyone on board” he said.
He was displeased by the absence of some senators ” Im saddened by the absence of our colleagues, our brothers and sisters of the other camp. This is not a victory for unity forum , we need to bring every APC senators elect and APC senators in the chamber. We need ourselves, this change cannot be a real change if we are divided” he pleaded
Dr. Lawan assured the party chairman that he will reach “out to our colleagues on the other side but also want to appeal that the national working committee, the party itself comes in to help us achieve that unity, that is all important” he said.
He promised ” we would not let you down. We will at all times try to be fair, just and equitable but we also have an additional work because this is not the senate chamber, this is an APC activity and event.. We will reach out to our PDP colleagues in the senate . I want to assure every one that I want to see a senate that is massively stable, that works in consensus building, that produces result that would guarantee the real change for Nigeria and for the betterment of this country” .
Also speaking at the event was the APC chairman Dr Odigie Oyegun who charged Lawal to be magnanimous in his victory.
Dr Oyegun pledged ” thank you for perseverance, democracy is not an easiest form of government but I want to assure you that as long as I am the national chairman of this party ,I intend that there will be internal democracy and it will be institutionalized, transparency would be our watchword” he promised.
He advised the other faction ” apparently some of us still have some difficulties in adjusting to this reality but as time goes on this spirit of change must be to calculate in every single thing that we do and the way we do it” he suggested.
” I am glad that our candidate has the essence of the idiosyncrasy of what is required to be done and has make the right statement of reaching out to both every APC senators and every other senators in the National Assembly . I want to wish you every luck and I have no doubt you would succeed and I want to say the party is with you in every inch of the way” .
