As intense lobbying, horse-trading and power play over the zoning of the Senate presidency and speakership of the House of Representatives heightened over the weekend, indications emerged that no fewer than 64 Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress senators-elect were scheming to block All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s candidates for Senate President, George Akume, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. Sunday Telegraph learnt that they are instead rooting for former governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Sunday Telegraph gathered from a ranking Northern senator that the 64 senators consist of PDP (39); while the APC supporters are from North-West (18); Kwara (2); Kogi (2); Niger (2); and Nasarawa (1). Akume is being backed by APC senators from the South-West and some other states in North-Central.
The 109-member Senate needs a simple majority of 55 votes to elect its president, according to its standing rules. Also, the South-West, to which the position of the House speaker was zoned, appears to be on the verge of losing the opportunity if a plot by elements of the New PDP who defected to the APC in 2013 and National Assembly members from the North-West remained unchecked till the day of inauguration in June.
The two blocs have reportedly formed an ‘alliance of convenience’ to checkmate Tinubu’s perceived influence in the affairs of the party. At its meeting last week, the APC national leadership set up a committee to evolve a zoning formula for the National Assembly positions, with the North- Central and South-West getting the Senate presidency and the speakership of the House respectively. Buoyed by this arrangement, both Saraki and Akume, who is the Senate minority leader, indicated interest in the race to succeed David Mark.
But while Tinubu is said to be supporting Akume, Saraki is having the backing of most PDP senators and a sizeable number of APC senators from the North- West. In the case of the House, Gbajabiamila, who is the APC Leader, was set to clinch the speakership until the last-minute permutations threw up other contenders from the North- East and North-West.
They are Hon. Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi) and Abdulmumini Jibrin (Kano). It could not be confirmed if the emergence of both legislators on the scene in spite of the zoning of the position to the South-West was part of the plot to ‘checkmate Tinubu.’ A meeting of the APC leadership to resolve the matter ended on an inconclusive note on Wednesday. Regardless of his mileage, Saraki has hurdles like power play, intra-party bickering and permutations as challenges strong enough to deny the North- Central the opportunity of producing the president of the Eighth Senate.
President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, who is said to have come under intense pressure from some entrenched interests within APC to sway the pendulum in favour of their preferred zones and ultimately candidates of their choice has reportedly been looking the way of the North-East, it emerged on Saturday night. The development which is coming on the heels of a strong push for the position by the North-East has three significant implications – the earlier zoning of the position to the North-Central supposedly propelled by the former governor of Lagos State-led forces could be altered. It also means that Akume and Saraki from the North- Central states of Benue and Kwara respectively may as well forgo their ambitions.
This is just as the contest appears narrowed to Yobe State-born Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts. Senator Ahmad Lawan. The North-East push notwithstanding, the ‘New PDP’ elements who defected to the APC have argued that the influx of their members into the party had indeed brightened the chances of the merger group hence they deserved to be given the chance to produce the Senate president, according to our source.
A re-elected senator from one of the North-West states confided in our correspondent that the legacy parties, that is, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and Congress for Progressive Change are bent on electing Akume but nPDP elements led by Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, are also “crying for justice and fairness.” He said, “The issue has gone beyond the way we have been seeing it. Quite honestly, the man (Buhari) has come under undue pressure because of the interests of some powerful forces within the party. “I can tell you that most of the solidarity visits from the states are not solidarity visits. Some are indeed coming to pressurise the president-elect to back a zone or candidate for the Senate presidency.
So far, the North-East has made several representations stronger than any zone as far as this race is concerned. “One of the arguments they have been pushing forward is that one man has been dictating which zone and who gets what since the formation of the party and that has not really made sense.
This is because from all indications, Tinubu’s support for Akume means that he wants to install even the Senate president aside from the national chairman and the vice president-elect; and we have a strong feeling that he does not want Saraki because of the leverage he (ex-Kwara governor) has.
“But the interesting thing is that those who want to make and unmake the Senate presidency might be in for some shock because as I am talking to you now, there are suspicions and fears about the meeting between the Senate President, David Mark, and Gen. Buhari on Thursday.
“From all indications, if care is not taken, even the South-West to which the speakership has ben zoned might lose out because Tinubu wants to bite more than he can chew. APC is no more the former AD, ACN or any party. It has become a truly national party and only serious consensus building can make us survive these four years; not one man dictating everything to his advantage.
“People might see it as a dream but it might happen the way (outgoing Speaker Aminu) Tambuwal was installed. Once the lawmakers enter the chambers, they are on their own. They are for themselves and their consciences, so nobody can dictate to them again.
“The true position is that majority of us in the Senate would ordinarily love Saraki if it zoned to the North-Central while most members of the House of Representatives would prefer Gbaja. But the issue is that once people perceive Tinubu to be having too much influence, anything can happen,” he said. Efforts to reach Tinubu’s media aide, Sunday Dare, were futile. Similarly attempts by our correspondent to find out from APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, when the issue of zoning would be resolved met a brickwall.
He said; “You Nigerian journalists have suddenly become lazy; is this Senate president’s story the only thing you can think of? All what you people have been writing is nonsense and if you don’t know people are laughing at you guys because you are no more credible. “The media cannot stampede us to make any further statement on this matter apart from what we issued last.
We won’t talk to you on this again please. Good day,” he told our correspondent on the telephone..The News Telegraph
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