Date: 2017-04-18

The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Abdulganiyu Bolaji Abdullahi, has posited that the recent stand-off between the Presidency and the National Assembly was blown out of proportion.

Abdullahi stated that some level of benign tension was normal between the two organs of government in a democratic setting, but added that the sanctity of both institutions must be preserved and protected.

In an exclusive interview with The Herald in Ilorin, the APC spokesman said Nigerians cannot stand aloof and allow the executive and the legislative to engage in a war of attrition because of its implication on the delivery of the ruling party's promises to the masses.

The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led other members of the National Working Committee of the party to meet with the Senate caucus of the APC last week, to address the looming crisis between the upper chamber of the National Assembly and the Presidency.

Abdullahi, a former Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission, noted that the APC did not see the apparent disaffection between the two organs as a negative trend, pointing out that it was necessary for democracy to get healthy.

He stated that the leadership of the party had summoned and cautioned the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sanni, on the need to be discreet on his recent utterances against the Presidency.

Abdullahi, however, told The Herald that the APC was concerned that some appointees in political offices were trying to dominate the political space, saying some of them were bereft of political behaviour.

He explained that their conduct was overheating the polity while the party hierarchy would inject behviour modification to resolve the brewing face-off.

Abdullahi said, "The basis of our intervention was the growing apparent disharmony between the two major arms of government. Some of these things happening were being exaggerated.

"We didn't consider the apparent disagreement as a negative thing itself. Because like we have been maintaining, in every democracy, a level of tension is necessary between the arms of government that are intended by the constitution to be independent and to serve as checks on one another.

"In the absence of that benign tension as it were, then democracy is not healthy, and the people are likely to lose. But there is a level that this tension stops that it becomes injurious to the democratic system. At that level, we, as a party, will have to move in to say look, what is the problem. That is the role the party should play.

"We recognize that the Senate or House of Representatives is not 100 percent APC, but we are the majority in both chambers of the National Assembly. So, we went to consult with our caucus in both arms of the National Assembly. We listened to them, their feelings and what they were not very happy about. "We learnt one thing that there is no fundamental disagreement as it were, and we didn't see any implication that they were deliberately out to cause problem for the President. People like to give example that the Senate said it will not screen the RECs because of the issue of Ibrahim Magu and all that. But those that things are normal. So, there is no breakdown as it were.

"They (Senate) also complained about particular individuals that they believe were using the benefit of their positions by being in government to attack or insult the National Assembly. At that point, we as a party took exception. That was when we said anybody appointed or elected on the platform of our party should not insult any of the arms of government whether it is executive or it is legislature.

"When Senator Shehu Sanni said the President was treating his associates with deodorant and his opponent with insecticide. We called him to the National Secretariat of (APC), that you cannot speak in those terms to the President. In the same token that we said you cannot insult or denigrate the National Assembly, it is the same token we spoke about Presidency then to the Senators who are inclined to insult the Presidency, because these are vital institutions of democracy, regardless of who is there now, regardless of what you think about the conduct of some people at the moment, we have a responsibility to protect those institutions.

"Because the moment we create a condition that makes everyone think that the National Assembly can be ridiculed at will or the Presidency can be insulted at will, then we would have been taking something away from those institutions. So, as a party, it is a duty that we have and we played it". When asked whether the intervention of the ruling party has permanently resolved the logjam, Abdullahi maintained, "Like I said, there is no spat per se. There were situations that could be improved upon, and the need to improve upon those situations is what we are pursuing. So, there is no specific spat or specific disagreement.

"And you could see that the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly are relating very well. So, there were no fundamental spats. It is just the need to understand more how to work together, and ensure that whenever disagreement arises, it does not in anyway hamper the capacity over our government to deliver on the expectation of the people.

"Some of the challenges our party faces, is that there are people, who are not politicians but are in positions and are seeking to dominate the political space. These people don't have understanding the political behaviour, that is necessary to ensure that the system does not get unnecessarily overheated. What we need to do is behaviour modification.

"They have to understand that if you are appointed or elected by someone, it is incumbent upon you, as out of respect to the person that nominated or appointed you, to respect the people that he must have relationship with in the course of doing his work. So, if you continue to be at loggerhead with the National Assembly, then you are creating more problem for the person you claimed you have respect for.

"You are making it difficult for him to fulfill the agenda that you say you value and cherish. If you truly respect Mr President, if you are truly committed to him getting his job done, you will find a way to build positive relationship with people he must work with by the dictate of our constitution to get those outcomes".