Wike, Ekweremadu differ with Jonathan, wife
over Sekibo
•
Akpabio seeks Minority Leader’s slot against
Senate rules
James Manager, longest serving senator, may
lose out
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
continues to grapple with the challenges posed
by the allocation of the principal positions of the
National Assembly, a similar crisis is brewing in
the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Expectedly too, the situation in the PDP appears
to have pitched some influential leaders of the
party, including the immediate-past president, Dr
Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, against the
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike
Ekweremadu as well as Governor Nyesom Wike
of Rivers State.
While both Ekweremadu and Wike are against the
choice of Senator George Sekibo as Minority
Leader as suggested by the former first family,
the immediate-past governor of Akwa-Ibom
State and now senator, Godswill Akpabio, has
thrown his hat in the ring for the same position.
But Akpabio’s ambition, which is at variance
with the Senate Rules on ranking is almost
having the blessing of majority of the senators
from the South-south, the zone the position of
Senate Minority Leader has been allocated.
Curiously, the chances of Senator James
Manager, who had hitherto been touted as the
Senate Minority Leader are looking dim as
financial muscle appears to have laid a path
ahead of the final decision that will be
announced when the senate resumes plenary on
July 21.
A senator from the South-south zone confided in
a team of journalists that the brewing crisis was
‘capable of weakening the PDP ahead of its role
as a viable opposition party in the years ahead’.
“We are seeing the APC crisis now, ours is also
in the making because before July 21, if we too
don’t sort ourselves out, we can at best say that
what is capable of weakening the PDP ahead of
its role as a viable opposition party in the years
ahead may have been planted.
“We all thought the issue of Senate Minority
Leader has been laid to rest until the DSP
(Deputy Senate President) called us for a
meeting in his house where he sort peoples
opinion on the propriety or otherwise of selecting
Senator Ita Enang for the position.
“I think it was from there the former Akwa-Ibom
governor got the feeling that if the matter has to
be revisited, then he would take a shot at it, but
he doesn’t know that his ambition is against the
rules of the senate as regards the selection of its
principal officers.
“Before then, we were all facing the challenge of
the suggestion by the former president and his
wife that we should consider Sekibo who is from
Rivers State but the duo of Ekweremadu and
Wike kicked against it.
“From all indications, if we don’t step in on time,
our earlier decision backing James Manager may
fail because you know what money can do in
politics; we can’t say money won’t work in this
circumstance.
“Although Akpabio has argued that both Manager
and the House Minority Leader-designate, Hon
Leo Ogor, being from Delta state, cannot hold the
two positions simultaneously, we have also told
him that since the PDP is in unusual
circumstances, we can allow that to fly.
The opposition PDP on Tuesday, zoned minority
positions in both chambers of the National
Assembly.
The party’s national publicity secretary, Olisa
Metuh who disclosed that at the end of its
meeting, the National Working Committee (NWC)
zoned the Senate Minority Leader to South-
South while the North-central will produce
Minority Whip.
Deputy Minority Leader and Deputy Minority
Whip go to North-east and South-west
respectively, while in the House of
Representatives, PDP said it accepted the choice
of the members who has already chosen Hon.
Leo Ogor from South-south as Minority Leader.
Metuh however, said the North-west will produce
the Minority Whip while the South-east and
North-east will produce Deputy Minority Leader
and Deputy Minority Whip respectively.
He said the party expects that, in consonance
with the provision of the Standing Rules of the
National Assembly, members will use their
various zonal party caucuses to chose party
principal officers to enable PDP provide effective
opposition in the National Assembly.
“We have directed them to note that in
accordance with the practice and convention of
our party, the nomination process should take
into consideration ranking, gender and religious
sensitivities,” he said.
However, baring any last minute switch of fate,
indications emerged yesterday that Akpabio
might be nominated to the position of Minority
Leader in the eighth Senate.
THISDAY gathered from sources at the National
Assembly that Akpabio’s colleagues within the
South-south Senate caucus of the PDP might
have settled for the former governor as their
choice of the Senate Minority Leader.
Although there were others who are interested in
the position, but the source said Akpabio
appeared to be having an upper hand following
the perceived leadership qualities during his stint
as the chairman of the PDP governors forum.
PDP rose from a meeting of the National Working
Committee (NWC) Thursday, to approve the
zoning structure for the party’s share of principal
offices.
Under the zoning structure, the party said the
South -South is to produce Minority Leader,
Minority Whip (North-central), Deputy Minority
Leader (North-east) while Deputy
Minority Whip will emerge from the South-west.
Similarly, the party zoned the Minority Leader in
the House of Representatives to the South-
south, Minority Whip (North-west), Deputy
Minority Leader (South-east) and Deputy
Minority Whip (North-east).
In approving the zoning formula, PDP advised its
lawmakers to use the various zonal party
caucuses to choose the party’s principal officers
in consonance with the provision of the National
Assembly Standing Rules.
It charged the legislators to ensure that they
provide effective opposition in the respective
chambers of the National Assembly.

Does rain falls on one man's roof? The answer is NO. Now is time for the APC to laugh PDP. 8 N'ASS of confusions.