By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem
Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) yesterday met President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa to among other things,discuss the way out of the leadership crises in the National Assembly.
The meeting which took place inside the office of the President also had in attendance Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The relationship between the Legislature and Executive had been frosty while the issues involved are yet to be resolved.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two others are currently standing trial in court over alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules.
Apart from the forgery case, Saraki is facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, for alleged false and anticipatory declaration of assets.
Also the House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and some principal officers are enmeshed in allegations that were behind the issue of padding of the 2016 budget with N40 billion.
Speaking after the meeting yesterday, Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha said they were in the Villa to reassure Buhari that the APC governors are solidly behind him in fight against corruption, insurgents and in the execution of laudable projects.
“We are concerned about the incessant happenings in the National Assembly and we have taken it upon ourselves to look into the matter, the crisis at the National Assembly.
“We are going to look into the matter because we need a strong, vibrant National Assembly to make things move fast in the country”, Okorocha said.
The governor said there had been a lot of improvement in the economy of the states.
“There is a lot of improvement. You will recall that when oil was above $100, what the states are getting now is close to what they use to get when oil price was above $100.
“This means this government is doing a lot, we are not yet there but we are getting there. We appeal to Nigerians to be patient with this government because it means well about the welfare of our people”, Okorocha said.
He also defended the decision of governors to embark on a trip to Germany for vacational Programme, saying that it was not a jamboree.
“There is nothing like jamboree trip, we are going to Germany because we cannot do everything here without exchanging ideas. Everything you do in your home, your business you share ideas.
“So we want to see how they have done what they have done to succeed. Its the aspiration of Nigeria to be like other countries in the world”, he said
