The leadership of Nigeria's ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is set to meet with President-elect Bola Tinubu, his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima, senators-elect, and members of the House of Representatives-elect on Monday, March 13, 2023, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting, scheduled for 2 pm, will be held at the State House Banquet Hall, Aso Rock Villa, and all invited guests have been urged to arrive early and be seated before 12 noon. The agenda of the meeting has not been officially stated, but it is believed that the leadership of the 10th National Assembly to be inaugurated in June and the issue of zoning for the Senate presidency, Speaker for the House of Representatives, and other principal offices in the National Assembly will be discussed.
The invitation was sent to Tinubu, Shettima, and the lawmakers-elect by the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
The guests were also directed to come along with their Certificates of Return issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission after they were declared winners. The meeting is strictly on invitation and is expected to avoid a situation like that which occurred in 2015, where Senator Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate President against the party's wish.
The source who craved anonymity explained that the APC is trying to ensure that the leadership of the National Assembly is in line with the party's wish and to avoid a repeat of the Saraki scenario. Saraki was elected as Senate President when 51 APC senators were waiting for a truce meeting reportedly called by the leadership of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari.
He was elected unanimously by 57 senators present at the session and sworn into office on June 9, 2015. The APC does not want to experience a similar scenario, hence the need for a meeting with the lawmakers-elect.