The Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Yakubu Dogara, has warned the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) that it is only by
enthroning justice and equity that it will be able
to silence voices of dissent and opposition within
the party.
According to a statement sent to PREMIUM
TIMES by his spokesperson, Turaki Hassan, Mr Dogara spoke on Thursday at a meeting between
APC members of the House and members of the
newly elected national working committee of the
party, led by the chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
He said the meeting took place at the National
Assembly.
According to the statement, Mr Dogara noted that
although there is no human endeavour that is
perfect.
“APC lawmakers only expect justice, which is
indivisible and universal.
“In every family whether it is a nuclear,
extended or an organisation there is bound to be
problem and that is because we humans that are
running those institutions are not perfect
ourselves. So we don’t expect perfection from
any quarters.
“Our only expectation is the issue of justice and
justice is indivisible. What is justice to the
executive should be justice to the legislature and
it should be justice to the judiciary,” Mr Dogara
was quoted to have said.
“What is justice to the President and the Vice
President should be justice to the Governor and
it has to be justice for the members of the
National Assembly, because you can’t divide
justice. Once you begin to divide justice you don’t
have justice.”
“And once we are able to get these things in their
proper perspectives to some extent, we will be
able to silence the voices of dissent within the
party.
“But that we have problems is perfectly okay, but
we mustn’t allow our problems to define us.
Rather, we should define our problems as a
party.”
Mr Dogara expressed optimism about the ability and capacity of
the new APC chairman, Mr Oshiomhole, to tackle the challenges
confronting the party.
He said, “I know that you come well prepared; we can only wish
you well and pray for God’s additional wisdom because human
wisdom won’t be enough as you navigate very treacherous
terrain.
“We pray God wisdom for you.”
For his part, Mr Oshiomhole told the lawmakers that “every
person matters in our party because all party members
voluntarily moved from various political platforms, and
dissolved those platforms in order to give birth to the All
Progressive Congress.”
He said that the idea of delivering the greater good for the greater
number of Nigerian citizens is what binds the APC together and
“defines us in spite of the teething problems we were bound to
experience that every new organisation goes through.”
Mr Oshiomhole had on Wednesday held a similar meeting with
the Senate caucus of the party.
The meeting came as some members, including associates of
leaders of the National Assembly, gathered at a hotel in Abuja
and announced the formation of the Reformed APC.
The party later on Thursday formally reacted to the emergence of
the group, describing it as a mischievous attempt to create an
impression that the APC was factionalised.
It warned that it was studying the development and may consider
legal action to defend the unity of the party.
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