All is set for the election of four of the 12 principal officers of the National Assembly today by senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect.
The offices being contested for are those of the President of the Senate, Deputy President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Speaker.
Recommended for the four offices are: Dr. Ahmed Lawan (President of the Senate); Ovie Omo-Agege (Deputy Senate President); Femi Gbajabiamila (Speaker); and Idris Ahmed Wase (Deputy Speaker).
To avert cracks in the party, All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and the National Working Committee yesterday deferred decisions on eight other principal posts.
The contentious posts left for APC are: the Senate Majority Leader; Senate Deputy Majority Leader; Senate Chief Whip; Senate Deputy Chief Whip; House Majority Leader; Deputy Majority Leader; Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip.
The governors and the party’s leadership have barred its members from nominating candidates against Lawan, Omo-Agege, Gbajabiamila and Wase.
But the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) was keeping its game plan to its chest on the intrigues in the APC over the choice of principal officers.
It was unclear last night whether the PDP will field candidates or not against the APC nominees.
There were indications that the PDP was waiting in the wings to nominate a former Deputy President of the Senate (DSP), Ike Ekweremadu if APC senators-elect remain divided on a candidate for Deputy Senate President.
Some aggrieved APC senators-elect and Reps-elect had intensified talks with the PDP ahead of today’s inauguration of the two chambers.
A former Senate Leader Ali Ndume, who leads the dissenting voice in APC, was yet to step down for Lawan despite pressure from some stakeholders, including ex-governor Kashim Shettima; Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, Amb. Babagana Kingibe and the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.
APC and its governors opted to bar members from presenting candidates against Lawan and three others to avoid any split in its caucuses.
It was learnt that the governors and the party were disturbed by the tension among its senators-elect on the choice of Omo-Agege for deputy Senate president.
It was gathered that the ban will enable the party to stabilise the caucuses in the two chambers.
A governor, who was part of the meeting where the decision was taken, said: “We are no doubt set for the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly. We have spent the last 24 hours addressing issues bordering on nomination process in the two chambers, the choice of deputy Senate president and the remaining principal offices in the Senate and the House.”
He confirmed that the “thorny issue” of the deputy Senate president was resolved with Omo-Agege being the favourite for the slot. “It was not easy but after weighing all options, the party felt the post should go to him. We have met senators-elect and explained the rationale behind our agreement on Omo-Agege,” he said.
Ndume seems to remain defiant, according to the source, who said: “As for Sen. Ali Ndume, we have done our best to reach out to him to persuade him to step down for Lawan. In fact, he refused to pick the calls of ex-governor Kashim Shettima; Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, Amb. Babagana Kingibe and the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari. He virtually shut out everybody.
“We have had audience with an aspirant for the Office of the Speaker, Mohammed Umar Bago, but he appears determined to contest against Gbajabiamila.
“ We have no choice than to consolidate on the gains we have made in the past few weeks by putting APC’s house in order and by managing challenges at hand.
“As a first step, we have mobilised and barred our Senators-elect and members-elect from nominating candidates against Dr. Ahmad Lawan (President of the Senate); Ovie Omo-Agege (Deputy Senate President); Femi Gbajabiamila (Speaker); and Idris Ahmed Wase (Deputy Speaker).
“Also, both the APC and its governors have agreed to reduce tension among senators-elect and House members-elect by deferring decisions on the candidates for eight remaining offices in the two chambers.
“These two key decisions were vital to our cohesion before the election of principal officers at the inauguration on Tuesday.”
Lawan Campaign Organisation spokesman Sen. Sabi Aliyu said: “APC is united, focused and determined to get it right so that we can deliver on our promises.
“We have learnt our lessons; we will not make any mistakes like we did in 2015.”
Asked if there was any deal with PDP, Aliyu said: “We have no deal other than the fact that we are ready to work with our colleagues in the main opposition party in the spirit of democracy and to make Nigeria a better country.”
PDP is believed to be waiting in the wings for any slip or division in APC, especially on deputy Senate president.
It was learnt that although the party had promised a former Chief Whip, Sen. Francis Alimikhena, a deal for the seat, the opposition PDP might re-nominate Ekweremadu, if APC is divided over Ovie Omo-Agege.
A PDP Senator said: “We are keeping our strategy under wraps but we can spring a big surprise. If we have our way, we want Ekweremadu as DSP to give the Southeast a sense of belonging.
“We have been having talks and negotiations with some APC senators too. Once there is any slip, we will capitalise on it.”
President Muhammadu Buhari last night urged APC senators-elect and House members-elect to put the party’s interest above personal desires.
The President met with the lawmakers at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja against the backdrop of some members’ refusal to respect the party’s directives on voting for principal officers.
A Presidency source said: “The President is personally overseeing things to ensure that the party gets it right this time around.”
No comments:
Post a Comment