Osinbajo, APC chieftains meet at the Villa
Yemi Osinbajo
Top guns of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met in the Presidential Villa Abuja yesterday behind closed-doors for about four hours, and when they stepped out of the meeting they all kept sealed lips on the deliberations.
The meeting was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who, it was learnt, had the mandate of his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, to preside in his absence.
Buhari is in far away Saudi Arabia for official and spiritual duties.
But it was learnt last night that contrary to speculations that the meeting was called to reconcile big wigs of the party who were silently at daggers drawn, much of the discussion was on how to raise resources to keep the broke party afloat.
The party has been having pains meeting its financial obligations, including paying staff of its secretariat. Governors of the party, like the president, have not been forthcoming with bail-out funds for the party, many suggest, because they are watching the body language of the party’s leader, President Buhari.
“The meeting was basically to discuss matters of politics within our fold and how to raise money to run the party since President Buhari has made it clear that it would not be business as usual as was done by the opposition when they were in power,” a source said yesterday.
“He has said he will not touch the security vote and told everyone it is meant for security issues,” the source added.On speculations that the meeting was called to reconcile the three forces in contention for the soul of the party, the source flatly denied it, adding that it was also not called to find a soft landing for the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as has been speculated in other areas.
The President’s group of loyalists, Bola Tinubu, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, are said to be the three forces within.
The source said that it was not true that the meeting was called to deal with the drift and disunity creeping into the party. He, however, said he did not know if it was true that Tinubu had a separate meeting with the Senate President to reconcile personal differences that was tearing the APC House in the Senate apart.
According to him, it is the imagination of those who say Tinubu and Atiku are working at cross purposes with the party leadership. “It is not true that Tinubu is keeping away from the party because of any cold shoulder he is receiving from anybody, and the man has made that clear in all his public pronouncements,” the source added.
Among others listed to have attended the meeting were party chairman, Chief John Odigie -Oyegun, Chief Tony Momoh, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
Oyegun, it would be recalled, had declared weeks ago that the party he presided over was broke.
“The party is suffering the strains of funding. We are working to raise resources within the membership. We have not asked for rescue from the president because it is not part of his national assignment,” he said.
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7 Comments
YES, CONTINUE TO PRAY TO SUSTAIN THE CORRUPT AND THE CORRUPTION. BIRDS OF THE SAME FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
SARAKI MUST FACE JUSTICE AND CLEAR HIS NAME FROM WORTH MORE THAN I TRILLION NAIRA PROPERTY THEFT. HOW DID HE GET THOSE FUNDS??? FROM WHERE???? AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN DOLLARS????
HAS SARAKI, DOLLAR PRINTING MACHINE AT HOME OR ARE DOLLARS COMING STRAIGHT FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA WHERE SARAKI’S WIFE IS CURRENTLY ENJOYING SARAKI’S DOLLAR LOOT IN NIGERIA??????
SO MR SARAKI DO NOT BE AFRAID OF JUSTICE NOW SHITTING IN YOUR PANTS . GO AND FACE JUSTICE. ARE YOU SHITTING BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU ARE A FIRST RATE CRIMINAL IN BUHARI’S ANTI-CORRUPTION NET????
AXE OF JUSTICE MUST FALL ON YOUR NECK, NIGERIANS ARE ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE SHOW TO BEGIN.
GUARDIAN DO NOT BE PARTIAL AND CORRUPT PAPER LIKE SARAKI. DARE TO PUBLISH MY COMMENTS ON SARAKI. IT IS THE UNFAIR AND EVIL PAERS LIKE YOU FINISHING NIGERIA TODAY.
I’m in total agreement with your views, vic.
What else would one expect as comments and views from Senator Saraki’s political stooges and “gladiators” who hail from – of all places – Kwara state? It is not surprising, though, that that is the class of people The Guardian degenerated to getting exclusives on this matter from.
“The thing go do them like film,” when this supposed “President of the 8th Senate” is found guilty, sentenced – especially to political oblivion, and his illicitly acquired/ill-gotten properties are forfeited to the Nigerian state.
And I sincerely pray to the Almighty that things come to pass this way, to help the process of removing the current distortions in our body politic and the economy. By inference, it should further help steer our society towards the path of true development, for the benefit of all.
P34c3
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yes, my dear brother, your prayers will be answered and the chief thief so-called senator saraki punished, his public properties worth more than a trillion naira sold, his illicit dollars taken away from him, for him to rot in kuje prison for life.
have a nice morning, duwdu
The guardian newspapers was once a progressive one until the death of the founder. The paper has lost its bearing as buccaneers have take over.
War against corruption but not against my supporters. You can not leave Nigeria with African food stuff
through Lagos International airport, until you pay bribe. But before the CHANGE propaganda government
you don’t have to pay bribe before taking your African foodstuff abroad. Now the change has been from bad to worst.
The quite but shrewd,smart and intelligent northern political coup plotters do not care and Nigerians do not care about what happen to Sarak, if what is alledged against him is proven beyond all reasonable doublt at the CCB/T. Nigerians voted President Buhari based on his personal resumes and not alphabeth APC. as 99 % of apc members are endemically corrupt as other party members. If President goes for second term, peace loving and those nigerians seeking rule of law and corrupt free society will vote for him, if he is determine to fight this corruption war holistically across party spectrum. The moment President Buhari set his cooruption war on many of his endemically corrupt party members, i am categorically statte that President Buhari will be supported by nigerians who would have seen changes and fair freedom from a gang of nigerians thieves and rascals that had been in position of thrust and authority without any complementary citizen welfare and social development or improvement. Nigerians voted Buhari and I salute all northern pdp/apc political leaders that plotted thiis political coup and I appluaded Buhari for accepting to take the mantle of leadership to execute what he/late Tunde Idiagbon had set out to do during their military coup before they were toppled by the father of institutiional corruption-IBB..
We will review and take appropriate action.