A former member of the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, has been elected as the substantive Chairman of the APC Non-Serving Senators’ Forum, a pressure group within the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Abatemi-Usman, who represented Kogi Central Senatorial District in the seventh Senate, was elected along with 17 others to pilot the affairs of the Forum for the next four years following its formal inauguration which took place on Wednesday at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
Erstwhile Chairman of Senate Committee on Works, Senator Ayogu Eze emerged as the Secretary, Senator John Danboyi (Public Relations Officer – PRO), Senator Clever Ikisikpo (Welfare Officer), Senator Fatima Raji Rasaki (Financial Secretary) and Senator Jalo Zarami (Treasurer).
The Vice Chairmen from the six geopolitical zones are: Senator Basheer Garba Lado (Northwest), Senator Lanre Tejuoso (Southwest), Senator Ifeanyi Araraume (Southeast), Senator Bassey Otu (South-south), Senator Abubakar Tutare (Northeast) and Senator Sodangi Abubakar (Northcentral). Ex-officios include Senators Nkechi Nwaogu, Ibrahim Ida, Domingo Obende, Margery Okadigbo, Umoru Dahiru and Ahmed Barata.
Former Senate Presidents, Senators Ameh Ebute and Ken Nnnamani were adopted as the patrons of the body.
Some of the other members present at the inaugural meeting were Senators Iyiola Omisore, Ganiyu Solomon, Musiliu Obanikoro, Ita Enang, Babajide Omoworare, Emmanuel Dangana, Simeon Ajibola, Anthony Agbo, Julius Ucha, Sonni Ogbuoji, Osita Izunaso, Umaru Kurfi, Andrew Uchendu, Florence Ita Giwa, Grace Bent, Alkali Jajere, Mathew Mbu, Anthony Manzo and Ibrahim Musa.
In a communique issued after a thorough deliberation on a number of issues concerning the ruling party and the polity, the group of non-serving senators on the platform of APC expressed “confidence and implicit faith in the APC as a vehicle for salvaging Nigeria and positioning it as the most influential country in Africa.”
The Forum also “Congratulates the party, its officials and members for surmounting the existential challenges it faced recently in the run up to its national convention through a deft and mature brinksmanship, anchored by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari; Urges the party to use the March 26, 2022 national convention to fine tune strategies for hitchfree congresses and national convention for the election of the party’s flag bearers at all levels in the 2023 general elections; Expresses optimism that the APC will win the 2023 general elections provided that the incoming party officials, to be elected on March 26, 2022, pursue an altruistic and robust process that will produce the best candidates for all positions.”
Reaffirming their commitment as members of APC to offer their experience and expertise to assist the incoming party officials to attain the lofty ideals of the APC, they noted that the rich resources of the group as one of the party’s most valuable constituencies have not been maximally tapped by the party.
They applauded the President’s determination towards combating insecurity and stabilizing the ship of the Nigerian state, imploring “the party and the government to rev up current efforts to ameliorate the economic well being of Nigerians who are currently battling the global hardship occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic and upheavals in various parts of the world.”
