The All Progressives Congress on Friday said it has recognised Bukola Saraki as the duly elected president of the Senate, a reality the party has to live with.
The party had earlier rejected the emergence of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
The party had released a statement stating that the duo was not the candidates chosen at the party’s straw poll, held shortly before the inauguration of the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.
At the party’s straw polls held at the international conference centre Abuja, on the Saturday preceding the inauguration which took place on a Tuesday, Ahmed Lawan was chosen as the candidate for the Senate President, while Femi Gbajabiamila was chosen as the candidate for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The two chambers however rejected the choices and elected Messrs Saraki and Dogara.
While the APC rejected the election, some APC senators threatened to challenge Mr. Saraki ‘s election in court.
However, the national chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, while fielding questions from journalists after the submission of the Ahmed Joda’s transition committee report, at the Defence House Abuja, announced that the party had made a U-turn on the matter.
He said it was time to face reality and work with the current leadership of the National Assembly while the party tries to resolve the issue internally.
“Of course he has been duly elected by his colleagues,” Mr. Oyegun said. “We have a reality and we must live with it.”
He noted that the party had come in contact with its own fair share of challenges and “this too shall pass away”.
On this being the beginning of the end of APC, Mr. Oyegun said, “No, it is not the first or second time we have passed through and we came out strong. This may not even be the last time, we come out every time stronger and more determined.”
He said the party was sorting out what had happened as a family.
“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,” he said.
On Mr. Saraki’s aborted visit to the APC secretariat on Thursday, Mr. Oyegun said his visit had not been convenient for the party at the time.
“Nothing went wrong,” Mr. Oyegun said. “There were a lot of consultations and you can’t be in two places at the same time and 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.”
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