From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governors under the umbrella of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) have declared that they would not interfere in the election of principal officers of the National Assembly.
The governors who rose from a marathon meeting in Abuja yesterday, said the new and old members were intelligent enough to understand the expectations of Nigerians from the ruling party.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, made the disclosure while answering questions from newsmen after the meeting.
Asked the level of input PGF intend to make in the emergence of the National Assembly leadership, he said: “We believe that our members in the 10th National Assembly are people with wealth of experience that will bring it to bear in choosing the new leadership. Many of them, including the freshers will be mindful of the party, it’s manifesto and the expectations of Nigeria from our party. They know the importance of working with other stakeholders within and outside the party. So, they will exercise their rights of choosing leaders in a way that will make Nigeria a better country and make our polity more stable.”
On the zoning arrangements, he said: “The National Assembly leadership is an elective leadership. So, while we congratulate them, we also believe members, particularly those of our party have the wisdom to make choices of the leaders that will be reflective of consultations within the party and outside the party for the benefit of Nigeria.”
On the thrust of their meeting, Bagudu said: “The PGF met and reviewed our performance in the general elections and preparations for supplementary elections. We also reviewed developments in the polity, particularly the incidents of few days ago, which we have issued statement condemning the treasonable call for interim government.
“We made it clear that Nigeria’s democracy has prospered and despite all challenges we are still beacon of light for many countries. We have seen elections that have been contested even in the so-called advance democracy in US with differences. Bush and Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and Trump with one disagreement and acrimonies but the system says those who otherwise feel disenchanted should pursue the judicial option. It is the same thing with Nigeria. All the elections since the emergence of Shehu Shagari has been disputed by one participant or the other. So, we felt that Nigerians are wiser and expect the political actors to be considerate of the wider interest. And since democracy has won, we must move on,” he advised.
On the interim government, the PGF boss said: “They should first define what they mean by an interim government. We had an election and somebody has been declared winner in the person of President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has visited the candidates before and sent delegation to others and he has called for support and willingness to work for others. That is what we want. We know that elections are not perfect tools for recruitment of leaders, but that is the best so far and we have adopted it, tested it, and achieved under it. So, those calling for any other means of changing leaders outside what our constitution and laws provide are not doing so in the interest of our country. In fact, it is treasonable and condemnable,” he said.