The inauguration of the 8th National Assembly on June 9, 2015 and the emergence of Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Senator Ike EKweremadu as his deputy led to a frosty relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and the presiding officers of the Senate. Many had interpreted the delay by the President to meet with the leadership of the Senate as a sure sign that he was unhappy with them.

While the waiting game lasted, the path of the President and that of Saraki crossed thrice – at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eid-el-Fitri prayers in Abuja and the Independence Day celebration at the fore court of the Villa.

In a two-part series on this page, prior to the august interface, I had underscored the import and desirability of such a symbolic get-together between Buhari and Saraki since they are both respected leaders of the party and the nation in general. In one of the columns, I had stated that any impression of division in the ranks of the party was an ill- wind that would bring no good. First, the APC had just defeated the PDP and sent their 16-year-old administration packing. Besides, after the APC's victory on a national scale, I felt it was time for the elected leaders of the party to put the acrimonies and misgivings that expectedly arose during the struggle and jostling to occupy certain political offices behind, settle down and get to work without further ado. This position was informed by the gargantuan economic paralysis and rot the APC inherited from the PDP's government.

In one of my columns referred to earlier, I had argued that the crisis foisted on the nation by the PDP, especially in terms of insecurity, dysfunctional economy, scarcity of fuel and unemployment needed all hands to be on deck to defuse the time bomb and get the economy up and running again. I had also underlined the fact that the situation in our country at that moment required the urgent collaboration of the three arms of government, if any positive impact was to be made by the present administration.

Therefore, you can understand why the meeting of the two leaders, all the serving Senators and attended by the national leader of the party Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, brought smiles and calm to all lovers of this country. The coming together of the three leaders who many thought were at daggers- drawn helped to dispel the cloud of animosity that had begun to gather on the party's horizon. They all sat and dined together. They both jaw-jawed. They were full of smiles. Peace returned.

One of my take aways from that presidential parley and dinner with Saraki and members of the 8th Senate is that Buhari is a listening President. He listened to my plea that such a meeting should not be delayed further as it is a sine qua non to desired excellent executive and legislative collaboration without which the APC's victory at the polls was bound to convulse and sputter in the near future. Secondly, the meeting also showed that Buhari is a man of his words. He kept the promise he made to Nigerians that he had no candidate for the position of presiding officers in the National Assembly and that he would work with whoever emerged as presiding officers of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly. The presence of Ekweremadu at the dinner is largely a clear testament to the fact that Buhari is the father of all and is ready to transcend opposition sentiments to forge a formidable front against the ills that beset our nation. Furthermore, the presence of Tinubu also showed that the President was keen on ensuring peace and cohesion within every strata of the party.

Another import of the dinner was that those who have been hiding in the dark to throw darts aimed at overheating the polity based on the assumption that there was a schism within the key leaders of the party must now find new and profitable ways to exhibit their talents. The storm is over! Our leaders have reunited! The APC is ready to move on and by so doing move the nation forward.

Again, one of the high points of the dinner was the sterling display by the Senate President which stunned and excited both the President, the Vice President and others present and earned him a standing ovation. The Punch's VIlla Correspondent, Olalekan Adetayo, in his column last Saturday gave a rundown of what transpired at the dinner and how Saraki stole the hearts and minds of those present, including PMB and the Vice President. In his piece titled: "When Buhari, Tinubu dined with Saraki" Adetayo painted an scene of conviviality and camaraderie that pervaded the Presidential Banquet Hall during the dinner.

According to him, "The event started with the arrival of the President and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo...the event was straight to the point. Immediately after the recitation of the national anthem, the compere, Mr. Femi Adesina, who is the president’s spokesman, invited his boss to make a short remark. Buhari, who was meeting the senators together like that for the first time, thanked them for the speed at which they approved his ministerial list and urged them to continue to support his government to succeed.

"Then it was Saraki's turn to respond. He told his colleagues and others inside the hall that Buhari had noted when he came in that he (the President) did not know when he (Saraki) left Ikenne earlier in the day. He explained to Buhari that he had to leave the town immediately the President arrived because he had been representing him at the burial. Saraki added that he enjoyed every bit of the about 15 minutes that he served as the acting President in Ikenne. They all laughed.

"The President of the Senate sought Buhari's permission to introduce his colleagues to him one after the other since that was the first time he was meeting them. Many people had thought that he would pass the microphone round for the senators to embark on self-introduction. But lo and behold, Saraki did not do that. He was looking at the senators' faces from table to table and introduced them by their full names. In some cases, he was adding the senatorial districts they represent or their states. All those inside the hall, including the President and the Vice-President, were so impressed that Saraki knows all his colleagues by their names that they all gave him a standing ovation and a loud applause immediately he finished introducing the last person."

I dare say that Saraki's extensive working knowledge of all the Senators in the 8th Senate no doubt lends credence to his assertion in June that he "worked hard" to emerge Senate President contrary to claims that he emerged through the back door by cutting a deal with PDP Senators. Saraki had in his first press interview after his election dismissed the misgivings and wide misrepresentations fuelled by his opponents concerning his election when he stated: "In my own view, and in the view of some of those who worked closely with me, I worked hard for my election. I had direct contact with every single senator, one-on-one in the weeks leading to the election; I did not rely on anybody. I worked hard - both in our party, the APC and outside it." He stressed further that "I approached every senator, I talked to them, and we built confidence, not only in the APC, but also, in the PDP. That was why I laughed when people said I had a deal with Ekweremadu or I had a hand in the emergence of Ekweremadu. I didn't need any deal to win. I had penetrated.There was no deal; I didn't need any deal in the first place. I had worked hard such that everybody who was a senator, I campaigned hard and canvassed for their votes and won their confidence." The new living translation of the Holy Scriptures in John 10:14, could be said to have aptly captured the personality of Saraki when it posited that, "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me." The presidential ovation for Saraki says it all. At least, Saraki's opponents at the dinner saw clearly why he is preferred above them by majority of Senators.