PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has rebuffed another meeting with senate president Bukola Saraki as attempts to resolve the ongoing impasse in the National Assembly defies solutions.

Since Senator Saraki emerged as senate president against the wishes of his party the All Progressives Congress (APC), the National Assembly has been in turmoil. APC leaders have been lukewarm towards the senate leadership and have particularly refused to recognise deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Moves by Senator Saraki to become accepted have been rebuffed by the APC leadership who endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan as their candidate for the senate presidency. President Buhari has by and large stayed away from the crisis but is privately said to be unhappy with developments.

So far, President Buhari and the Senator Saraki have only met once since the latter’s emergence as senate president. All efforts by Senator Saraki to have another meeting with the president have apparently been rebuffed by President Buhari.

One government spokesman said: “The truth is that the president is still displeased with what transpired in the National Assembly, especially the senate. Their encounter during the APC national executive council meeting, when they shook hands, was the first meeting between President Buhari and Saraki since he emerged as the president of the senate. 

“We are aware that Saraki has been going about begging people to assist him to plead with the president to meet with him. That was one of the reasons why he visited former President Obasanjo bit I can tell you that the president is very pained by what happened as he felt that since he had been transparent with the party, everybody should play that way. 

One other party leader added that the handshake between the president and Senator Saraki during the recent national executive council (NEC) meeting of the APC was for journalists. He added: “President Buhari is still upset because of what happened and if you read in-between the lines of his speech during our last NEC meeting, he reminded people who joined the party after it was formed not to rubbish the sacrifices made by party leaders. 

“It was not for the fun of it that the president took time to go down the memory lane to trace the genesis of the APC. Although the president said he was prepared to work with anybody who emerged as leader in the National Assembly, he did not envisage a scenario where Saraki would emerge as the senate president and Ike Ekweremadu, a member of the PDP, would emerge as the deputy president of the senate.” 

However, Senator Saraki's spokesman Yusuph Olaniyonu, said there was no cause for alarm, adding that President Buhari had repeatedly told Nigerians that he believed in the independence of parliament. He explained that Senator Saraki and President Buhari had been having regular official communication and that such would continue to because the senate would have to approve all appointments made by the president.