From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has recanted his earlier statement that the party might concede the leadership of the senate to the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), warning that under no circumstance will the ruling party concede the leadership of the senate.
The ruling party boss said the issue of which party to produce the senate president should not even arise in the first place.
Asked if he would not mind the party losing the Senate President seat in the event that Bukola Saraki is removed, Oyegun said: “We don’t take anything for granted. As the PDP is planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control. The whole situation is unfortunate but it is real.
“I don’t think we will lose that position. But sometimes, for change to take place there is price you have to pay. So, losing the position may be a sacrifice for change,” he was quoted as saying at the weekend.
However, in a brief chat with journalists at the party national secretariat in Abuja yesterday, Oyegun insisted that he was quoted out of context, adding that it is practically impossible for APC to lose or concede the Senate Presidency.
He equally defended the stand of the party in the ongoing trial of the senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, arguing that it is abnormal for the party to interfere in the judicial process.
“As a party of change, we cannot interfere in the judicial process that is ongoing. That is very clear. On the senate president, I want to say that under no circumstance can we compromise on the leadership of the senate. We are the majority party and the issue does not even arise but misinterpretation has been a bit too intense.”