Senator Shehu Sani, on Thursday, paid Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari at Daura, Katsina State, and thanked him for intervening in the crisis facing the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kaduna State.
Mr Sani, representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, who spoke to journalists after a closed door meeting with the president, said they deliberated on issues bordering on strengthening the APC through resolution of all internal strife in the party.
According to him, he used the opportunity to assure the president on the support of his constituency to his re-election bid in 2019.
He said: “I am also here to fully assure him of the support of my constituency, Kaduna Central, to his aspiration for the second term.
“I’m also here to assure him of my own wholehearted support to the success of his administration and his return to office for the second term.
“Those were the basic issues that we discussed with him and other issues that border on the need to strengthen our party; the need to end all internal strife and also the need to put heads, hearts and hands together for the success of his administration and also for the success of the party.”
The senator stated that his decision to remain in the APC was not because his grievances against the party leadership in Kaduna state had been addressed, but due to the intervention of President Buhari and the national leadership of the party.
He, therefore, called on all aggrieved members of the APC in the National Assembly to put aside parochial interests and join hands with the party in promoting national interest for the general good of all citizens.
“Well, there is no human being without any grievances but when national interest is put at the front side you have to put aside other parochial interests.
“What we need to do as politicians and as people representing those who elected us is to always put the country first and know very well that we have both constitutional and moral duty to work to the progress of Nigeria and of this government.
“So, I think these are the basic issues which we discussed, grievances are natural but we have to know that we have a country that we need to keep and also we have a country that we need to support, so that it can progress,” he added.
On whether he has been assured of automatic ticket to seek re-election in 2019, Mr Sani said even he was not so keen about automatic ticket but the party had pledged to reward loyalty.
He, however, stressed that while rewarding members for their loyalty to the party due process must be followed.
“I think the party had made it very clear and known to each and every person that there will be reward for loyalty but in every sense of the word due process of the party needs to be followed.
“And as far as we are concerned, what matters most to us is not simply about automatic ticket but about the peaceful and transparent conduct of the 2019 election and also the very need for us as a people and as a nation to know that the fate of the country is on our hands.
“There is the need for us to keep aside all sectional, ethnic and religious differences for the progress of this country and going by the very fact that the President has intervened and chairman of the party has intervened – all family squabbles would certainly come to an end,’’ he said.