APC Convention: Unity list should be ready by Saturday – Lawan

Senate President Ahmed Lawan has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should be able to produce a ‘Unity List’ as a product of consensus ahead of Saturday’s convention.

He said this Thursday while fielding questions from State House reporters after President Muhammadu Buhari held a meeting with the National Assembly APC Caucus at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

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Lawan said the North East had already reached a consensus and agreed on positions zoned to various states in the region.

Asked whether the party had arrived at consensus across board since the President, the governors and the National Assembly were talking about the matter and what would happen to those that had purchased the forms, he said: “I think that question should not be put to us because we’re not the party. But because we are asked and we are in your territory we’ll make some effort to say something to it. The essence of this engagement is for the party to achieve consensus, and consensus is a process. It doesn’t just happen like that.

“So, I believe that before we go into the convention square on Saturday, by the grace of God, we would have a lot of consensus reached and maybe the sort of document that we call or refer to as unity list that is bringing all the agreed positions where consensus have been achieved in the various sections or geopolitical zones of the country.

“Only yesterday we had a meeting of the Northeast, and we have achieved consensus, and other zones are either about to conclude or will conclude before the end of tomorrow, Friday. But by Saturday, I think the answers will all be there for everybody to see.

“So, on the issue of why allow other people to buy forms. I think democracy does not prevent anybody from buying forms, what democracy does is to provide opportunity for everyone having some guiding principles. If a position is zoned until a consensus is reached, everybody who thinks he or she has something to offer can go and buy the form and also throw his or her hat into the ring.”

The senate president said the APC with 22 governors and control of the federal government needed to remain “very focused, energetic, and purposeful as it has always been, and ensure that we maintain the trajectory of development for our country. Because that is trust Nigerians gave us in 2015 and renewed that, in 2019.”

He expressed the commitment of the APC caucus in the National Assembly to ensure that the political party did not only have a successful convention but a very successful, peaceful and safe electioneering campaign during 2022/2023 general elections.

“By the grace of God, we’ll see Nigerians voting once again, for APC, because we have so far done so much in the areas that matter for the people of this country.

“But that is not to say that we are not facing some challenges we are, but we are squaring up to ensure that we deal with those challenges,” he added.