What senators told us about Saraki’s trial - Bolaji Abdullahi
Malam Bolaji Abdullahi is the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, he speaks on the seeming frosty relationship between the Senate and the executive, the division among key party members and the pe
Daily Trust: The party leadership met with the APC Senate Caucus. What were the resolutions? It wasn’t a meeting intended to arrive at resolutions. For us as a party, the most important thing that took us to the Senate was to listen to whatever issues the caucus of our party in the Senate may have in mind.
D/T: When you met them, what were the issues they had in mind?
The key issue that came up had to do with the relationship between the Senate and some members of the executive that, according to the senators, disregard them. They also raised the issues of reward system. According to them, key appointments have been made without their involvement even though they are leaders in their respective constituencies. Such issues came up. There were also political issues that had to do with leadership arrangements within the party. But the national chairman assured the senators that the issues they had raised would be collated and would soon do further consultation with Mr President.
D/T: We read that the senators told the chairman that before there can be peace, the Presidency must withdraw the suit against Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Was that part of the issues?
It wasn’t listed as a pre-condition. A couple of senators used it to illustrate the disharmony within the party - the idea is that somehow our party has contrived to be in government and opposition at the same time. And that as a way of moving forward is the Senate’s response to the party’s demands that the majority leader should be replaced with someone that was initially recommended, nominated and supported by the party, Senator Ahmed Lawan that Senate has demonstrated its willingness to carry out this directive. They also said that they believed the ongoing trial of Senate President was fallout of the leadership election process in the Senate. So, if the senators have complied, then they expect that that should also be dealt with. They were just expressing what they desired. They were not giving it as a pre-condition for any ceasefire in whatever situation that exists at the moment.
D/T: Do you think the APC members understand the content of the manifesto of your party as they work at cross purposes?
I don’t know the basis for your conclusion that everybody is working at cross purposes. I don’t understand the basis for that conclusion. Necessarily, democracy must encourage dissent. The framers of our constitution envisage a level of tension between the executive and the legislature. That is because they are expected to check and balance each other. So, when the executive makes a proposal to the Senate and the Senate turns it down, it does not necessarily indicate a breakdown of relationship. It only means that it’s a fulfillment of those situations that were envisaged by the constitution. There is nowhere in the world where the meaning of harmony in a democracy is that all the arms of government always agree.
D/T: Why is it difficult for the party to resolve the crises in the states?
When you say it is difficult, you have passed a judgment. You are just giving a number of issues that exist in various states. And again, I will say that it is normal in a democracy because party politics means that interests will clash and people will disagree. So, the fact that people must disagree does not mean that the party will collapse. Those issues that arise, the party will solve them. I can assure you that some of these things that exist in states, we have started looking into them and committees are being put together to go into these various states and find the best way to resolve them. I can assure that very soon, we will get over some of these divisions.
D/T: What is your take on the PDP’s position that Nigeria is worse than how the APC met it two years ago?
I don’t want to go into that kind of controversy because it is based neither on facts nor logic. Nigerians know better. You don’t need to tell Nigerians whether they are better because they voted for the APC. All the governorship elections conducted since 2015, the APC has won. So, Nigerians know where we are coming from and where we are now. They know how we got into the situation that we are in today.
D/T: But what do you think the APC has done differently?
There are three major things that Mr President spoke about during the campaigns. One of the things Mr President promised is to tackle insecurity, especially Boko Haram. I like to point out that at the point the APC took over power in 2015, Boko Haram had its flags hoisted in at least 11 local government areas - a land mass estimated at 50,000 square kilometers which is several times bigger than many African countries. Two years, what is the size of the Nigerian territory that Boko Haram is occupying? Do you know? It is zero. The National Secretary of our party, Malam Mai Mala Buni, is from Buni Yadi. He was telling us that there is nothing you can tell someone from Buni Yadi, for example, about the government of the APC or President Buhari that they have not done anything. They will just be looking at you as someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about because a little over two years ago, no single soul was in Buni Yadi. It was a ghost town. Nobody could go to those places. Was it not in Buni Yadi that those boys of Federal Government College were slaughtered? Everybody left that town. It was deserted. Today, life has returned to normalcy. Human beings have gone back to Buni Yadi. That is a major achievement. It is easy to take it for granted because human beings easily forget where we are coming from.
You ask me what the APC has been doing differently. Every single day as you wake up in Nigeria, you learn that government is prosecuting somebody or somebody is either being arrested or arraigned for corruption. In the past, you did not get this. So, the fact that it is dominating national conversation on a daily basis means that there is an increased consciousness to deal with corruption just as Mr President has promised. So, those are some of the things that have been done differently. Like I keep saying, I speak for the party and I will like to limit my question to what concerns the party.
D/T: The INEC released the time-table for the 2019 general elections at a time when some parties are considering the possibility of forming a strong coalition against the APC. Are you not threatened by such move?
The APC cannot be threatened by any coalition that you have just mentioned. I don’t know of any coalition. But if any of such coalition exists it is within the rights of any party to go into a coalition. The APC is also a product of coalition. So, why should we worry that some people are forming a coalition?
D/T: Do you think the APC can still achieve the feat it achieved in 2015? I believe so very strongly.
D/T: There were separate protests over the non confirmation of the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu and the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume. Are you not worried of a possible attempt to sabotage the anti-corruption war by your own members?
No, no, no. We are not worried. It’s not our business. The constitution gives Mr President powers to nominate. The same constitution gives the Senate power to confirm. So, it’s just a normal constitutional relationship, it’s only in Nigeria that we have to read meaning to things. When a judge refused to approve President Donald Trump’s travel ban, was that judge now seen to sabotage President Trump? Why do we personalize everything? It’s purely constitutional.