In furtherance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) efforts to resolve
the rift between the Executive and the National Assembly, the APC urges
all government appointees to stop making statements that may further
worsen the relationship between the two arms of government and derail the
Party’s effort to make peace.
Specifically, the Party urges Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the
Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) to exercise
restraint and desist from making utterances that may be misconstrued as an
attack on the institution of the National Assembly.
The Party acknowledges the fatherly role being played by the President,
H.E Muhammadu Buhari to resolve outstanding issues with the National
Assembly, by setting up a high-level committee led by the Vice President,
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
We believe the comments attributed to Prof. Sagay are uncalled for,
regrettable and could further complicate the relationship between these
vital arms of government.
Our expectation would be that as a Law Professor of repute, Prof. Sagay
would appreciate the need to not denigrate the institutions of democracy,
be it the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary.
Moreover, as an appointee of Mr. President, we should expect the learned
Professor to key into his principal’s temper and help him to make friends
that would make his job easier and not make enemies of people who, by
virtue of the position they occupy under our law, are critical to the
running of government and the nurturing of our democracy.
The Party specifically objects to the Professor’s call on the Senate to
withdraw invitation extended to him. As someone appointed by our
government, we find this kind of posturing unacceptable and potentially
injurious to the peace efforts by the Party.
The Party wishes to reiterate its earlier position admonishing all elected
or appointed officials of our government to desist from utterances that
may endanger efforts to build harmonious relationship between the two arms
of government. Prof. Sagay should not operate outside this admonition.
The Party expresses happiness with the meeting it had with the Senate
Caucus on Tuesday and is confident that all the issues raised will be
addressed. It also urges the National Assembly to further intensify its
efforts to ensure timely passage of the 2017 National Budget.