A House of Representatives member, Abdulrazak Namdas, said All Progressives Congress (APC) reconciliation assignment of Sen. Bola Tinubu’s committee would not be hindered by the party’s National Working Committee’s tenure extension.
Namdas told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that he was optimistic that the reconciliation committee would work amicably with people within the party’s national leadership.
“Tinubu, because of his leadership qualities has been asked to mediate and the Tinubu we know is a member of the APC; whatever issue that arises in APC, he has the capacity to resolve those issues.
“He is an elder and there is nothing he has not said. I think Tinubu will be able to work with anybody,” he said.
The lawmaker said that the recent extension of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun’s tenure as National Chairman of APC by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party was constitutional.
He said that NEC was guided by the rules in the party in the decision, adding that the action was lawful.
“If the NEC which comprises the National Working Committee (NWC) and all the state chapters deemed it necessary to do so, who are we to say no.
“By my understanding, if there are issues, they will be resolved. But, I think that the extension is not something wrong.”
On the recent President Muhammadu Buhari’s reinstatement of Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, who was on suspension, Namdas said it was proper.
He said that Yusuf’s recall would help in the investigation of N10 billion allegedly missing at the agency.
“We are meant to understand that the executive secretary made some revelations that led to his reinstatement.
“If something led to his suspension and later the government realised that he did the right thing, there is nothing wrong in asking him to come back.
“The only thing we have now is that there were two withdrawals from the NHIS of N10 billion that led to a motion being brought before the House.
“As far as we are concerned, this is the area we should focus on because he alleged that even when he was away, the withdrawal was made without his knowledge.
“And, by the law, the agency needs to be the one to request for that money and he does not know who requested for the money.
“If not that he is back nobody would have known who authorised it. So, it was good that he came back; at least he is now able to tell Nigerians that he was not responsible for the authorisation,’’ he said.
The lawmaker added that “if N10 billion was missing when he was suspended, who knows, somebody can also allege that his suspension was to give way for the withdrawal of the N10 billion.
“So, whichever way, until the investigation proves otherwise, I think suspension and reinstatement are normal in the service.
“Once somebody is suspended for alleged wrongdoing and he is discovered not to have done so, there is nothing wrong in reinstating him.
“But, when investigation proves that he is wrong, then he has to go.” (NAN)