PRESIDENCY PANICS; MOVES TO FORESTALL MASS DEFECTION BY R-APC MEMBERS, CALLS FOR MAKE-OR-BREAK TALKS

President Buhari 

Pressed into adopting panicky moves, the Presidency, in a last minute attempt not to lose its party's hold on the legislature summoned a meeting with the leadership of the Reformed All Progressives Congress, R-APC.

The emergency meeting which is expected to hold Sunday, will have President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the APC in a make-or-break talks with the leaders of the Reformed-All Progressives Congress (R-APC) at the Presidential Villa.

This is supposed to be as a follow-up to the one held by Buhari, Oshiomhole, Saraki, alongside some governors at the villa last week Thursday.

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and a number of leaders from the opposition in the PDP had, earlier in the week, met in his Ilorin home after a victory rally held by Saraki.

The victory rally was said to be in celebration of Saraki’s victory at the Supreme Court following his protracted legal battle, to prove his innocence on the allegations of false asset declaration preferred against him by the Federal Government.

The presence of the PDP chieftains at the Ilorin meeting, apparently sent jittery signals to the leadership of the APC and the Presidency as it subsequently invited the Senate President Saraki to the Presidential Villa, Abuja for peace talks.

Presidency sources disclosed that the national Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had initiated the peace moves with Senator Saraki but the outcome was not made know.

The source further disclosed that at the parley between the duo, Saraki had inquired if Oshiomhole had the mandate of President Buhari to initiate the parley and only sat down, when Oshiomhole answered in the affirmative.

That attempt at reconciliation by the APC National Chairman and Saraki birthed the Thursday’s meeting at the Aso Rock Villa, which had some of the governors of the party in attendance alongside President Buhari.

At the meeting, sources disclosed that Buhari promised to sign any agreement that would forestall the defection of Saraki and other bigwigs to the opposition PDP.

The follow-up meeting is scheduled for evening hours of Sunday, July 22.

The leadership of R-APC, according to sources, have perfected a number of demands, which would be presented before the President to sign if he wishes to retain them in the APC.

It was further revealed that, no fewer than seven of such demands are said to have been placed on the table at the weekend.

Top of the demands is the retention of Senate President Bukola Saraki as Senate President in the new dispensation and also, the retention of Speaker Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the new dispensation from 2019 as well as the return of party structures to members of R-APC, who have been displaced by the APC hierarchy in the process of the last national convention.

The R-APC, from the list which was said to have been sighted by the source, is also seeking the dissolution of state executives of the APC that emerged through parallel congresses, while the National Convention must also be properly constituted to ensure an executive that could stand the test of time.

Also on the demand list is the need for automatic return tickets to all members of the R-APC in the Senate and House of Representatives, ahead of the 2019 election.

Though, the R-APC has not formally called for a cessation of legal hostilities against its members who have been dragged to court on different counts, it was also gathered that, some emissaries of the presidency who visited the likes of Senators Danjuma Goje and Aliyu Wamakko, had hinted that a cessation of legal hostilities could be in the offing against many of the affected R-APC members.

“A high-powered delegation of the Presidency had visited former governor of Gombe state, Senator Danjuma Goje penultimate week where it was promised that his impending case could be softened", a highly placed source disclosed.

Another of such delegation had also visited some top and influential R-APC members with a ploy to cause divisions in the R-APC and stall the mass defection.

The source however noted that the key aspect of the agenda is to prevent the R-APC and the PDP from gaining majority in the National Assembly be it the Senate or the House of Representatives.

"The Sunday meeting at the Villa will decide the fate of the APC, the R-APC and its planned merger with the PDP", the source stressed.