Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), an NGO, has advised the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.

Abdulwahab Ekheide, the Programme Officer of ACE, gave the advice in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.

He also urged aggrieved APC members to accept the election of the principal officers of the National Assembly rather than go to court to challenge the election of Saraki.

The programme officer added that the plan of some members of the APC to file a suit over the issue was not necessary, adding that the issue could be settled within the party.

“The leaders of the party must manage the crisis in order not to lose the senate seat to the minority.”

He described the election of Saraki and other principal officers of the National Assembly as democracy in action.

“This means that our legislators are now fully independent to make their choice of leadership.”

According to him, members of the 8th National Assembly made up their mind to choose their leaders by themselves and not somebody choosing for them.

“Exactly what happened at the Senate, also happened in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly; the Speaker is APC and his deputy is a PDP member.”

The programme officer said that APC could not have voted the Senate President alone without the support of the PDP senate members because APC could not form two-third majority in the Senate.

He commended Buhari for pledging to work with the leaders of the Senate and urged them to work with him for the interest of Nigerians.

Meanwhile, APC has described as “totally unacceptable and the highest level of indiscipline and treachery” the conduct of Tuesday’s inauguration of the National Assembly that led to the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

The National Publicity of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that the party was supreme, adding that its interest was superior to that of individual members

Credit: NAN