North-west House Caucus in Disarray Over Buhari

The rumour of President Buhari's presidency ahead of the 2019 general election has caused an internal wrangling among some lawmakers in the Green Chamber.

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

There is anger in the North-west caucus of the House of Representatives following its alleged endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presumed interest for the presidency in 2019.

 

Although the president still has over two years to serve his term and has not indicated any intention to re-contest the position in 2019, the leader of the 94-member caucus, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, had after a meeting last Wednesday told newsmen that the caucus had unanimously endorsed Buhari, who is from the zone, to bid again for the presidency in 2019.

 

Doguwa said: “2019 will come and we are also going to be there; we will be able to engage it as it comes. I want to tell you that Nigerians can’t afford to miss Mr. President in 2019 as it comes.”

 

It was however gathered that members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party were not happy with the impression that the caucus had endorsed the president.

 

The five-member PDP caucus, all of them from Kaduna state, Hon. Yakubu Barde, Hon. Gideon Gwani, Hon. Simon Arabor, Hon. Shehu Garba and Hon.

 

Sunday Marshall Kaltung, were up in arms at the weekend.

 

The Minority Whip, Barde, confirmed that the caucus did not endorse Buhari for the 2019 presidential polls.

 

“I am of the PDP, so that is not possible. PDP has its own candidate for the polls and we would soon present the candidate,” he told a reporter in a telephone interview yesterday.

 

Also speaking, Kaltung corroborated Barde by saying the issue of endorsement of Buhari never happened. “I can tell you categorically that it never featured in our discussions at the meeting, so if anyone says we endorsed anyone, it is a big lie,” he told a correspondent.

 

A PDP member who spoke off the record said the main issue discussed at the caucus meeting was the under-representation of the zone in the 2017 budget.

 

The source said: “Many of our roads are becoming death traps, and we want to see how we can strategise to attract more infrastructure to the region. We also want more attention for security.”

 

He said it would be funny for anyone to endorse the President at this time, explaining that lawmakers needed to be sensitive to the mood of Nigerians.

 

According to him: “The President is being bashed in the public space for the hardships Nigerians are dealing with, so to support him for 2019 would be like insulting the citizens.”