Senate ready to cooperate with Buhari’s peace committee to end rift

Nigerian Senate has expressed readiness to embrace President Muhammadu Buhari’s committee, whose mandate is to ensure that peace and cohesion return between the executive and legislative arms of government.

The chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sabi Abdullahi, stated this on Thursday in a chat with newsmen, adding that the Senate welcomes with open arms the move targeted at bringing an end to the clash presently rocking the executive and the legislature.

During the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday, Buhari had set up a cabinet committee to be headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, with the mandate to ensure peace and unity return between the two arms of government.

The rift between the executive and the legislature worsened after the Senate refused to approve the appointment of Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) sent to it by Buhari, insisting that acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr Ibrahim Magu must be dropped.

Reacting on the committee set up by Buhari and other issues arising from the rift, Abdullahi said, “We have heard about the initiative by President Muhammadu Buhari in setting up a Presidential Committee on Executive-Legislature Relations to be headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

“It is a good step in the right direction. The Senate, in particular, and the National Assembly in general, is ready to cooperate with the group and work with them to resolve all grey areas standing on the way of the smooth working relationship needed to deepen our fledgling democracy and ensure good governance for the benefits of Nigerians.

“On the RECs, all the Senate said was that if we have passed some resolutions and they were rubbished, why are we passing another? The Senate simply asked the President of the Senate to liaise with the President of the country to know what had happened to the passed resolution.”

According to Abdulahi, the decision by the Senate to reject Magu should not be seen as the cause of the rift.

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