Saraki Must Prove He Is Truly Sorry - Lawan group

Senator Ahmad Lawan-led Senate unity forum had on Sunday, August 23 told the Senate President, Bukola Saraki that for peace to return to the troubled Senate, he must obey the directives issued by the All Progressives Congress and  President Muhammadu Buhari over the choice of principal officers.

The group stated that the principal officers as being constituted must be reverted and that the present occupiers must vacate their seats before any truce can be reached.

The forum who canvassed for the emergence of Senator Ahmad  Lawan as Senate president, added that it will withdraw the suit currently in the court challenging the election of the presiding officers of the Senate if the party leaders directed them to do so, The Punch reports.

It tasked the Senate president and his group to show that they are truly sorry for their action before the crisis could be resolved.

This latest statement from the forum is coming on the heels of the peace moves by Saraki and his group.

It was reported that Saraki’s loyalists secretly met with the president few days ago for further consultation on the crisis.

The senators loyal to Saraki that met with President Buhari, who had been reportedly avoiding Saraki since the crisis at the upper chamber started were Ali Ndume, Danjuma Goje and Adamu Aliero.

It was learnt that Saraki met with the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu as part of moves to straighten ties with him.

The spokesman for the group, Senator Kabir Maraf said that his group would defend the party’s discipline and its supremacy over all members of the APC in the upper chamber at all times.

He added that until senators Ahmad Lawan, Sola Adeyeye, Abu Ibrahim and George Akume are announced as principal officers before peace can be achieved.

Marafa further explained that the Saraki-led Senate went against both the party’s directive and the rule of ranking in the announcement of the principal officers who were elected by the caucuses of their geopolitical zones.

He said: “Our position has not changed. Those who were appointed as principal officers must vacate their seats first because their appointments contradicted the Senate rule and the position of the party which is supreme.

“The court should determine whether or not the management of the National Assembly was right to have used the Senate Standing Order 2015 which was not amended through due process.”

The forum insisted that they were not fighting their own battle or for personal interests but rather a battle sanctioned by the party to instill discipline in the party.

New indications have emerged that APC leaders are not in the mood to talk peace with Senator Saraki. They insisted that Saraki must follow the party’s directive or no deal.