President Muhammad Buhari last night convened a meeting of APC Senators at the Aso Rock Villa, with Senate President, Bukola Saraki, conspicuously absent. His name was not even in the list of guests expected at the meeting.
The parley, which followed the crisis that has seen about 14 Senators and 35 House of Representatives members dumping the party, started a few minutes past 10 pm at the conference room of the Office of the First Lady, in the Villa.
The parley may have been convened to stem further defections and re-assure remaining members of the party, in the Senate but according to sources in the presidency, it will be a make or mar meeting as the APC prepares for 2019 general elections.
At the meeting were 42 Senators out of the 53 expected or invited by the Villa, with about 11 inexplicably absent when the meeting started.
Surprisingly, Senator Lanre Tejuoso of Ogun State, who had earlier dumped the APC, showed up for the meeting at the last minute and was boisterously welcomed back by his colleagues.
During introduction of guests, Tejuoso told the President that “your son is back”; while the president said: “what would I have told Kabiyesi?”, referring to the senator’s father who is the son of Osinle of Egbaland in Ogun State, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso.
Other Senators present were Adamu Aleiro, Bala Ibn Na-Allah, Aliyu Wamako, Ibrahim Gobir, Kabiru Marafa, Abu Ibrahim, Kabiru Gaya, Barau Jibrin, Abdullahi Gumel, Shehu Sani, Ahmed Lawan, , Ali Ndume, Abubakar Kyari, Baba Kaka Garbai, Aliyu Abdullahi, David Umaru, Abdullahi Adamu, George Akume, Francis Alimekhina.
The rest were Andrew Uchendu, Magnus Abe, Ovie Omo-Agege, John Enoh, Nelson Effiong, Andy Uba, Sunny Ugboji, Hope Uzodinma, Ben Uwajimogu, Yusuf Yusuf, Oluremi Tinubu, Gbenga Ashafa, Solomon Adeola, Tayo Alasoadura, Soji Akanbi, Ajayi Boroface, Yele Omogunwa, Fatima Rasaki, Olanrewaju Tejuoso, Yahaya Abdullahi.
National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Enang, were also in attendance.
