The National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said the purpose of the meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was to bond the new and old senators, as well as establish a new relationship between the executive and the legislature.
Oshiomhole who spoke to State House correspondents after the dinner, said, “The system talks about the separation of powers between the executive and legislature and the two must handshake for things to happen.
“And when you have a president that is determined to drive changes, fundamental changes that will affect our habits, our life style, review the economy, deal with the security situation, fight corruption as fiercely as he is trying to do, he will need a very supportive legislative arm of government.
“And happily, the Nigerian people have given us the number in the legislative arm of government.
“All we have agreed today is that we will use these numbers as a functioning whole to determine the leadership of the senate in a way that we are not going to go to the floor of the senate and allow the opposition dictate who becomes the senate president.
“Because, we have comfortable majority to drive that, what we have to do is to manage that majority.’’
Also, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, who also spoke on outcome of the meeting said, “What the president has done today, I think is the right step in the right direction.
“The last time we did not have the opportunity of this politics but today, Mr. President invited us. Because, we are governors and we also dialogue with our senators.
“Mr President said in order to avoid rancour, let me lay the way forward and we are very happy he has laid the way forward and because of that we are all going to work towards achieving the desire of Mr President for the good of this country.’’ NAN quoted him as saying.
Those in attendance included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, governors of Kogi, Jigawa, Oyo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, Plateau, Osun and Lagos states.
The Senators-elect at the event included all those who had directly or indirectly indicated interest to contest for the seat of President of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly.
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