In what appears to be an end to stiff resistance to the will of the Nigerian Senate in electing its leaders, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, on Friday said the party had accepted Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate.

the party’s chairman maintained that the reality was that Saraki’s colleagues had duly elected him and the party was ready to live with it.

Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke with State House correspondents before after joining members of the transition committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to present their report to the President at the Defence House, Abuja, noted that the emergence of Saraki as Senate President “was not comfortable for us”.

Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, both of the APC, emerged as leaders of the National Assembly on Tuesday against the directives of the APC.

The party had earlier asked its members to vote for Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Reps respectively.

Since their emergence, the party had insisted that Saraki, Dogara and their supporters would be sanctioned.

When asked specifically whether the party would accept Saraki as the President of the Senate, Odigie-Oyegun said: “Of course! He has been duly elected by his colleagues. We have a reality and we must live with it.”

According to The PUNCH, on Saraki’s aborted visit to the APC secretariat on Thursday, the party chairman said there were a lot of consultations going on at that time and he could not have been in two places at the same time.

He however said party chiefs were already talking with Saraki and would not want to make noise about it.

He said: “Nothing went wrong (on Saraki’s aborted visit). There were a lot of consultations and you can’t be in two places at the same time.

“So, it was not comfortable for us, but we have been talking. We don’t want to make a song and dance of it. Everything is being put in proper perspective.

“It is not the first or second time we have passed through this kind of scenario and we came out strong. This may not even be the last time. We come out every time stronger and more determined,” he said.

“People say they are going to court, which is their right, but as a party, we are looking at everything and we are coming out strong,” Odigie-Oyegun insisted.

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