The National Headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has set aside the purported suspension of Senator Barnabas Gemade, Prof Terhemba Shija, and five others by the Benue State Executive Committee of the party.

This was announced by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, in a statement on Thursday.

Morka said, “The Party has directed that the said suspension and all related actions in the matter be, and are hereby, set aside pending further review and decision of the Party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on the matter.

“Therefore, Senator Gemade, Professor Shija, and five others that are affected by the said suspension are, and remain, bonafide members of the Benue State Chapter of our Party.”

The duo of Gemade and Shija contested the governorship position but were defeated by Fr. Hyacinth Alia, who went on to win the general elections.

They dragged Fr. Alia to court, up to the Supreme Court, before the case was dismissed.

10th Senate Presidency: There Are Other Ways To Reward Zones With Bulk Votes, Says Oloriegbe

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June, the lawmaker representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, is optimistic that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will reward zones that produced bulk votes in the recently concluded general elections.

The APC lawmaker stated this on Tuesday on Channels Television’s Politics Today as the battle for the senate presidency thickens.

Already many groups have argued that a Christian southerner should be the next Senate President after Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State. But the APC is yet to zone principal officers of the National Assembly.

During the interview, Oloriegbe said there are other ways his party will compensate regions for an impressive outing in the polls, although he did not state how.

“The election is over, we have the leadership of the country to consider. There should be inclusiveness. Part of what the Constitution under Section 14 (4) tried to do is to be able to see that we stabilise this country through various means,” he stated.

“I think this will come in into play in terms of the thinking of the party. The essence of zoning is to be able to address the spirit of the constitution in terms of carrying everybody along. There are various ways through which the party will be able to reward the various segments that brought in votes.”

On the leadership of the next parliament, the lawmaker said the majority of the Senators-Elect are not new to the National Assembly.

The lawmaker cited the instance of a hopeful for the number three job, Godswill Akpabio, saying he is an old member of the National Assembly, though new to the 10th Assembly.

“Not 70 per cent are new (members). 70 members are not members of the current 9th Assembly,” he stated.

“They are not really new. For example, if you say Senator Akpabio is new to the 10th Assembly but not to the National Assembly.”

The All-Progressives Congress (APC) has dissolved its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) inaugurated last year to prosecute the 2023 presidential election.

The dissolution was contained in a statement on Saturday night, jointly signed by the Director General of the APC PCC, Governor Simon Bako Lalong and the Secretary of the council, James Abiodun Faleke.

The party on behalf of the chairman of the Presidential Campaign Council, President Muhammadu Buhari; the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and other leaders, thanked all council members, leaders and supporters for working assiduously for the resounding victory of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

“Since the campaign council began in September 2022, we have witnessed an unprecedented, relentless, and engaging mobilisation of our members nationwide and in the diaspora towards securing the majority popular votes for the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential ticket. The journey has been a worthy one with our hard-won victory. The credit goes to all our members particularly, the leaders and members of the various campaign directorates.

“We would like to express our deepest appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), for his unwavering support and leadership throughout the campaign. We could not have achieved this level of success without his single-mindedness, commitment, and forthrightness.

“However, we have concluded that it is in the best interest of the campaign and its stakeholders for us to dissolve our council with immediate effect. This has become necessary to retune us towards the May 29, 2023, inauguration of the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. The process of transitioning into a new era of a Renewed Hope is underway and all our energies and activities must reflect the principles underlying this process.

“We hope that you will all continue to stay involved in Nigeria’s political process and to advocate for issues that you believe in. Our democracy is stronger when we all participate in the political process with patriotism. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your support, dedication, and hard work”, the statement said in part.