David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi

Two Methodist Church of Nigeria bishops, Livinus Onuagha of Dioceses of Onitsha, Anambra State and his counterpart from Item in Abia State , Sunday Eze, have disagreed with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leadership over the composition of principal officers of the National Assembly.

The two clerics bared their minds during a special thanksgiving service held at St Andrews Cathedral, Awada Obosi, Anambra State, in honour of 14 members of the church newly conferred Knights of John Wesley, at the recently concluded conference of the church held in Okigwe Abia State. The two bishops said APC had no business dictating to the members of the National Assembly who should lead them.

Bishop Onuagha noted that whoever would be the Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives, respectively, should be exclusively the duty of elected members of the National Assembly to determine, which comprised members of other political parties, and not the APC alone.

He said the APC leadership under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and other big wigs of the party should avoid the temptation of imposing any member of the National Assembly on others, as this, according to him, is capable of generating crisis at the Senate and House of Representatives that might disrupt the business of lawmaking.

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“National Assembly members should elect suitable candidates who should lead them to move the country forward and not those that will do the biddings of the party and its leadership, whether they are doing the right thing or not,” he said.

“Members of the minority parties should rise to the occasion to show that they are representing the masses from all over the country, who elected them. Elections have come and gone, even though some people have gone to the tribunal to seek redress, the country must move forward and that can only be done through good leadership and not a party affair.”

For President Muhammadu Buhari, Bishop Onuagha said he should stop surrounding himself with the cabals, but rather engage technocrats in his cabinet, “if Nigeria must be moved forward.”  He insisted that President Buhari is not in charge of his administration.

Bishop Eze, on his part, said anybody elected to National Assembly was there to serve Nigerians and not the party. He said that lawmakers were known for lobbying, not for imposition of leadership. He wondered whether it had been jettisoned in the law-making business to the extent that a party would brazenly move to foist their preferred leaders on members who came from different parties.