ABUJA – Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, asserted yesterday, that there was no faction within the All ProgressivesCongress caucus in the senate but a disagreement among senators from the political party over the principal officers of the upper chamber.
Na’Allah, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, also seized the occasion to correct an impression that Senator Ahmad Lawan, was leading a group of APC senators in the red chamber.
“I want to correct an impression that there is a faction of the APC senators led by Senator Ahmad Lawan. We have the Senate Unity Forum, of which I am a member and led by Senator Barnabas Gemade. No matter how unfair to Senator Gemade, he stands as one of the leaders in this country and I do not want to believe that he needs even the inkling of any other person to get involved in reconciling the Senate.
We do not have a crisis in the senate. What we have is disagreement within our colleagues on how certain things things should be done. It is when we have crisis that we will be talking about reconciliation but when we have a disagreement, we will sort out matter based on what all of us believe in”, he vontinued.
He noted that all the senators in the two groups, believe in the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.
The Deputy Leader however noted the settlement of the disagreement among the members would be very easy to carry only if there would be no external influence for now.
Na’Allah observed that a former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, might have been misquoted in his recent statement which alleged that the emergence of the principal officers was a conspiracy of the North against the South West.
“Chief Bisi Akande is a highly respected senior member of this country and I am not so sure he had not been misquoted on that issue. Even where it exists, I am absolutely sure that, that it cannot be the correct statement of the situation.
The North holds every section of this country high, we detest the idea of even labeling us as North because we have passed that stage with the current development in our country.
We are a united country whether we like it or not with some few interests being defined at different levels of our governance but as far as Nigeria is concerned, I don’t want to believe that there is any conspiracy.
If there is any conspiracy on the part of the North, what made you think that the conspiracy will involve bringing somebody from the PDP and from South East to become the deputy senate president.?
Things happen not as expected. For instance, when we, the Unity Forum, were in the ICC, waiting for our President to come and address us, if we were in the chamber during the election, I am absolutely sure that the outcome would have been different.
So, I do believe that the statement was not erroneous attributed to Chief Akande.” He added
On the alleged President Muhammadu Buhari’s body language towards Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s emergence as the DSP, Na’Allah said there was nothing for now, to suggest that the president was not happy with the development.
I have not seen Mr President nor see his body language but I know if you want to be fair to him I can say to some extent that I know Mr President very well. He is a patriot, he believes in this country.
He has exhibited that belief in every aspect of his life and I don’t want to believe that when he made a statement that he was ready to work with every one, it was not in furtherance of his belief that the Nigeria that he knows, is a united Nigeria where every citizen should be given equal opportunity.
I know that as a loyal party members, he is not happy with the situation. As matured people we should be able to make good of what has happened and move the country forward”, he stressed.
Na’Allah said he decided to dump the SUF immediately the chairman of the party issued a statement that the APC leadership had recognised Saraki as the senate president.
“You remember that the National Chairman of the APC issued a statement that the party has recognized the presidency of Senator Bukola Saraki. With that statement, as a loyal party man, what do you expect me to do? That is why I am towing the party line”, he decided.

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