Senator Ita Enang

The presidency has appealed to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara to reconvene the National Assembly in order to consider several urgent matters pending before it.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang made the appeal at a press conference in Lagos over the weekend.

The presidential aide said if the National Assembly is not immediately reconvened, it might adversely affect the country, particularly with respect to the 2019 general elections whose budget is pending before the federal legislature.

Owing to the ongoing acrimony between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Enang solicited for peace, saying the request for the legislature to reconvene was an appeal in the national interest, not compulsion.

He further warned that lawmakers’ holiday which commenced on July 24 and ends on September 5 might stall the allocation of funds to critical sectors of government and the economy.

He also appealed to party leaders and various caucuses in the National Assembly to prevail on their leadership to reconvene and treat pressing national issues which needed urgent attention.

“In fairness to the National Assembly, they scheduled to consider these matters on the 24, 25 and 26 of July but certain unforeseen events happened that they had to adjourn. Therefore, they did not deliberately keep these matters and went away.

“The matters include virements, settlement of appointments, supplementary budget, borrowing plan, INEC fund and so on,” Enang said.

He continued: “I want to say that we are appealing to the National Assembly, that we accept that it was not intended by them that the country should suffer.

“They had made plans to approve these before the exigency that made them to adjourn, but I want to appeal to them, that they should please consider reconvening for the purpose of considering these urgent national matters which are capable of making the government not perform and deliver on time.”

While the PDP accused the APC-led Federal Government of plotting to forcefully reconvene the National Assembly with a view to effect a leadership change in the legislature, the ruling party insists that Saraki, having defected to the opposition must step down as president of the Senate.