Date: 2015-07-05

A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Michael Bamidele, has urged Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, to embrace peace initiatives made by the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) aimed at resolving the crisis at the National Assembly.

The former lawmaker lauded President Mohammadu Buhari for making efforts to restore peace and promote party supremacy.

Bamidele, an ex-chairman of the committee on legislative budget and research under Hon. Aminu Tambuiwal-led House, praised the president for placing himself under the authority of the APC, saying that his action would lead to the resolution of the leadership crisis rocking the two chambers of the National Assembly.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Ahmed Salami, Bamidele urged both Saraki and Dogara to reciprocate the party’s gesture of recognising them as leaders of the two chambers by always subjecting themselves to the wishes of the party.

“What President Buhari demonstrated was a paradigm from the old order, where party was often treated as an appendage of

powerful individuals in a party. With this clear position, I believe the crisis in APC is over.

“President Buhari promised Nigeria change and he has started demonstrating this by showing how a good party structure must be under an ideal democratic situation. The party supremacy is a global convention and Nigeria cannot be an exemption, no matter how we perceive our style of politics.

“I see no reason why members should continue to feud when the national leader of the party had made it clear that the position of the party is incontestable and must be respected at all times.

“The two factions must concede to each other. They must shift positions and concede where necessary in order not to blow away the party’s goodwill with Nigerians.