Atiku Abubakar on Friday, November 14,
settled two chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),
who had been fighting a cold war for some time now.
The former vice president settled the national leader of the APC,
Bola Tinubu and the Senate President Bukola Saraki during his daughters’
wedding ceremony.
The Cable reported that the duo have been strange bed fellows
immediately after the party emerged victorious in the last general
election that ushered in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Their differences began after Saraki defied the leadership of the APC
in his pursuit to lead the senate. Not until yesterday have they been
on speaking terms and the last time they were seen together in public
was during the build up to the general election.
The Senate president was quoted to have said: “Most Nigerians are
aware that there has been no meeting or communication between me and
Asiwaju Tinubu since I was elected Senate President.”
However, being guests of the ex-vice president, Saraki and Tinubu had
no option other than to sit close to each other at the wedding ceremony
of Atiku’s three daughters in Yola on Friday.
It was also reported that the speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who like Saraki also declined to execute
the directives of the party in naming the principle officers of the
green chambers, was also at the ceremony.
It is said that prior to now, Tinubu did not give Saraki the
opportunity to settle their differences whenever such presented itself.
It was reported that the national leader last month ruled out any form
of reconciliation with the two-time senator.
Tinubu in a statement was quoted to have said: “The manner by
which Saraki captured his current seat travestied party discipline. It
was a crass act of disloyalty showing that Saraki may have joined the
APC on paper but has remained true to the malpractices and wrong aims of
the reactionary PDP in his soul.”
The national leader also lambasted the Senate president when he was
attempting to elude trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over
false declaration of assets, saying: “Government officials are no
longer believed by the citizens. When one has a public responsibility,
the citizens look at it as if the source of wealth to steal and
mismanage public funds and do things not included in the democratic
norms and values.”
Tinubu after the Eid prayers in September told newsmen that: “It
is not what I haven’t personally experienced. I have been through it. Go
through it at once and have a nation that we will all be proud of. We
have to live by example and by our words. We can be talking about it
alone. We have to work it without any iota of blackmail.”
Saraki for his own part had continued to insist that his trial is nothing but a witch-hunt.
The Senate president in his speech on his first day at the CCT said: “I
strongly believe that I am here because I am the senate president. I
have come here to subject myself before this tribunal not because I am
guilty … I am a firm believer of the rule of law.”
One cannot ascertain if the verbal war between the two leaders will
be halted following this weekend’s function but all fingers are crossed
as we look forward to a better relationship between them.
Meanwhile, Atiku recently expressed satisfaction with the verdict of the Taraba governorship election tribunal that was announced in Abuja on Saturday, November 7, which ushered in Aisha Alhassan of the APC.
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