TheCable

John Oyegun, national chairman of the All Progressives Party (APC), has said the APC will be “very, very glad” if Ike Ekweremadu, a high-ranking member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), resigns his position as deputy senate president of the eighth national assembly.

Ekweremadu, a senator representing Enugu west constituency, emerged deputy senate president last Tuesday for a third consecutive time, against George Akume, APC’s anointed candidate.

While speaking with Channels television on ‘Roadmap 2015’, Oyegun said his party was in charge of the national assembly but would have to grapple with issues like Ekweremadu’s emergence.

When asked if his party would want Ekweremadu’s resignation, he said: “Those are issues we would grapple with, the important thing now is to get our government in place.

“If he wants to resign, we would be very very glad, but for now, as at today, our mission is to get the senate settled to get them at work.

“We are in charge; we are in control. There’s no question about that. The aspect of an Ekweremadu may be an aggravation, but we have to continue to work until things resolve themselves and things would resolve themselves.”

He said by the end of one year in office, fairly dramatic results would start to become a reality in the Nigerian public life, adding that after four years, he wants the Nigerian people to be grateful they voted the APC.

“We want to do it in such a way that at the end of four years, most Nigerians would say thank God we voted APC , thank God we voted Buhari.”

Oyegun took responsibility for the crisis in the party, but said “the blame for certain actions I refuse to take”.

Speaking on the demand for his resignation by some members of the party, the 75-year-old said it would be unnecessary, as the APC civil war had ended.

“The civil war in the party has ended,” he said. “Like I said, the focus is, look gentlemen, let us not allow this distract us from the pact we have with the Nigerian people.”

APC had elected Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for the leadership of the two chambers of the 8th national assembly, but their resolution was upset by Bukola Saraki, Yakubu Dogara and many PDP lawmakers who ensured the emergence of the later.