PDP Senator accuses party of complacency as controversy over nat’l assembly leaderships rage
Garba Maidoki, (PSP, Kebbi South), says that his efforts and others’ to get the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership to stop the constitution of the national assembly leaderships announced on Tuesday failed.
In a report by Daily Post, Maidoki said that the process by which both majority and minority parties’ leaders emerged in the national assembly was fraudulent.
He said: “We were at the PDP Secretariat yesterday and for them to tell us what we are going to do and we were told that nothing has been finalized. We asked the PDP secretariat that if nothing is finalized, please write a letter to the Senate telling them that we have not agreed on the leadership of the minority caucus.
“Unfortunately, those who were there refused to write this letter, either because they were aware or because they were culpable. We don’t have problems, two wrongs do not make it right.”
“This is most fraudulent, we were fenced out of the whole process.”
Despite his complaint, Maidoki said he would cooperate with the Senate leadership.
“Nigeria is a project, and if it must work, they should be transparent in everything government,” he said.
“I always tell people that I am an accidental politician because my people came to me without notice that I must contest.
“We have 36 out of the 50 Senators that are in the minority caucus and then we cannot even come together and agree who should lead us.
“I might not vote for you, but I should be able to know that you’re vying for something, and you should be able to know that even if I oppose, you will win.
“But to come to the Senate and just hear that some people have sat down and they have agreed that the thirty-six Senators have nominated minority leadership.
“I am not against them now that they have emerged, we are willing to join forces because there is no time to fight now.
“I never knew they were signing, nobody called me, nobody informed me even through an SMS. We have a minority caucus where we have been meeting regularly. The issue was never brought up,” he insisted.
The names of those who comprised the national assembly leaderships emerged from both parliaments on Tuesday.
