President Muhammadu Buhari met with some aggrieved All Progressives Congress, APC, and senators, who threatened to dump the party over the outcome of primary elections in their respective states.
KEMI FILANI NEWS recalls that former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, claimed that about 22 senators are planning to defect from the party over the alleged injustices resulting from the lack of internal democracy during the party’s primaries.
Seven APC senators had already dumped the ruling party, including the immediate past Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, representing Kebbi North, former governor of Kebbi State, Adamu Aliero, senator representing President Buhari in Katsina North, Ahmad Babba-Kaita; former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, among others, have since jumped ships to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP.
The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who led the delegation to President Buhari on Tuesday, said the lawmakers felt disenfranchised by the process and conduct of the primaries.
During the meeting, President Buhari urged the senators to exercise restraint in deciding to defect from the APC.
He said the defections threatened the APC’s majority in the National Assembly.
After the meeting, Kalu said the aggrieved Senators would no longer pursue defection from the APC.
“Earlier this afternoon, I led the 22 aggrieved Senators and members of the All Progressives Congress to President Muhammad Buhari, GCFR.
“Our meeting with Mr President was successful, and the issue of decamping from our party has been laid to rest,” the Chief Whip wrote on his social media page.