At a party gathering of APC senators and members of the House of Representatives over the weekend, Senator Ahmed Lawan of Yobe North was nominated for the position of senate president with Senator George Akume of Benue North West as his deputy. In the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, representing Surulele I Constituency in Lagos State was nominated for the position of speaker, with Hon Mohammed Monguno, representing Monguno/Nganzai/Marte Constituency in Borno State as his deputy.
However, the mock election results have not been accepted by the losers and challengers Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Yakubu Dogara have both vowed to stand as senate president and speaker respectively. They have both been wooing parliamentarians from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and are set to force a vote on the matter.
At the weekend mock vote, 32 senators voted for Senator Lawan while 27 abstained and the Saraki group believes this means that they have just as much support among APC senators. They are now wooing the PDP and are believed to have got more pledges from the opposition than the Lawan camp.
As it stands, Senator Saraki is believed to have the backing of 20 APC senators and 25 PDP senators, so needs 10 more votes to win the contest for the senate presidency by a simple majority of 55 in the 109-strong chamber. Senator Lawan, on the other hand, is believed to have the backing of 30 APC senators and 10 PDP senators.
It is believed that former governors who are currently senators-elect like Godswill Akpabio, Theodore Orji and Aliyu Wammako are in the forefront of those supporting Senator Saraki. Also, Anambra State senators Andy Ubah and Uche Ekwunife are mobilising for Senator Saraki, while former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu is holding the Enugu and Ebonyi support-base for him.
One Saraki supporter said: “We are reaching out to all elected senators, including the PDP senators as they cannot be ignored. They make up 49 senators of the senate, so now that there is a problem as to how to reach a consensus, the best alternative is to seek the support of all the senators."
“We are seeking a common goal for the overall interest of the senate and Nigeria, which is an efficient and capable leader who can steer the affairs of the senate and indeed the National Assembly. In the presidential primaries of the APC, all members with presidential aspirations were allowed to contest and so shall it be with the election of the Senate president of the Eighth Assembly."
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