The battle for the Senate leadership appears to have assumed a new twist as one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, was said to have begun to lobby some of the outgoing governors of the party to prevail on former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, to step down for his candidate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, since efforts to outwit the Saraki group have continued to hit a brick wall.


The former Lagos governor was said to have taken further steps in his push for Lawan when a majority of the APC senators, even in the South-west were said to have signed up for Saraki and efforts to convince them otherwise through their governors have not yielded the desired result.


It was against this backdrop that Tinubu, early last week, allegedly met with two outgoing North-west governors – Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Ibrahim Wamakko of Sokoto State, whom he pleaded with to support Lawan and also speak to their senators to do same.

But the former Sokoto State governor, according to sources, told him it was late because they had not only given their words, but also signed an undertaking to that effect, adding that any attempt to act otherwise could elicit a moral debate; but, with Kwankwaso he was able to extract a commitment.


Also last week Thursday, the North-west caucus of

senators-elect met, except Kano caucus and Senator Kabir Marafa in Sokoto, where they all agreed to work with Saraki.


At the meeting, the former Governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, volunteered to speak to Marafa and Kwankwaso to join other North-west caucus in supporting Saraki.


The seeming inauspiciousness of the Lawan project allegedly became pronounced when the unity forum, a group of the APC senators-elect under the chairmanship of Senator Barnabas Gemade, who are promoting Lawan, hit the rock with other APC senators-elect, in their efforts to swell the numbers of the party’s senators supporting their candidate.


The Lawan group had promised to make public, the signatures of senators supporting Lawan but the reality on the ground showed that they did not have the numbers.


Thus, in an effort to save face, Tinubu was said to have started a new leg walk with a view to wooing more senators into their fold by directly speaking to the governors.


It was gathered that although some of the senators were approached and pressured by their governors to reconsider their stand, especially those from the South-west states and shift allegiance to Unity Forum, they have refused to yield.


Sources hinted that most of the senators that were approached for support and signature declined based on the fact that their integrity would be at stake if they shift allegiance to Lawan after having giving their commitment to Senator Saraki’s aspiration.


According to a source, one of the senators approached said, “We’ve already committed our support to Senator Saraki, a signed letter has been sent to the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the document is already in the public domain. How do you want people to see us, as treacherous beings and inconsistent fellows?”


THISDAY learnt that since the Tinubu’s trip to the North-west failed to yield results, especially knowing full well that the Saraki list is not a fluke, coming from the party chairman, who presented it to the other leaders, the Lawan group has been worried and have begun to ponder other strategies to contain the Saraki group.


Also, THISDAY gathered that Wamakko, who is a senator-elect, has urged Tinubu to emulate President Muhammadu Buhari who has elected to be neutral in who emerges as the next senate president.


Wammako, who spoke when Tinubu and the former interim National Chairman of APC, Bisi Akande visited Sokoto State, said Tinubu should as the leader of the party be neutral and allow the senators to chose their leaders.


The meeting that has in attendance the new governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, told Tinubu that it would be in the overall interest of the ruling party to allow the senate choose their leaders and avoid unnecessary interference


The decision of the three states of North-west to vote for Saraki, it was gathered, has depleted the ranks of senators supporting Lawan quest for senate presidency.


THISDAY reliably gathered that at meeting held in Sokoto last Thursday with all the elected and returning senators to the eighth senate, the three states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara said they had decided to vote for Saraki due to his leadership qualities.


The only abstention at the meeting, it was gathered, was Senator Kabiru Marafa who is a known supporter of Lawan, but the former governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, was mandated by the meeting to speak to Marafa to retrace his support for Lawan and join other senators from the three states and support Saraki.


According to the source that spoke to THISDAY, “We chose to support Saraki because he had once held executive powers as a governor for eight years and has therefore shown his ability to manage people. The senate is an assemblage of matured and senior citizens and therefore needs the head that can manage people and with proven ability on leadership. This we found in Saraki.”


It further gathered that the meeting of the senators was attended by the three governors of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States.


With this latest development of support for Saraki, the support base of the former governor has now extended to the North-west, South-east, South-south, South-west, North-central and North-east with more than 70 senators across the political parties rooting for Saraki as the next senate president.

Source: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/senate-presidency-saraki-consolidates-as-lawan-s-group-hits-the-rock/210864/

D fall and d fall of tinubu
D guy don enter on chance
Baba na learner wen it comes to federal politics
Him be local champion
Lol
#dancing shoki


Dedicating dis first to comment to d downfall of tinubu and godfatherism in naija politics



Note: if saraki wins d senate, SW shld forget d speakership, cos north east will surely stick to dat, and den tinubu is left wif "pastor" osibanjo.

SHARIAREPORTERS:
D fall and d fall of tinubu
D guy don enter on chance

Tinubu's political sagacity is beyond all this hate publications.

SHARIAREPORTERS:
D fall and d fall of tinubu
D guy don enter on chance
Baba na learner wen it comes to federal politics
Him be local champion
Lol
#dancing shoki

don't worry after buhari stablized oil price he we also stablize brain price so u can afford it

Tinubu will be cut to size. Nansense....

Tinubu will find out that federal politics is diffrent from SW amala politics.

Tinubu is going down

I guess Tinubu should know by now he cant have his way all the time. APC is now at the presidency, he should sit back and make sure they(apc) deliver to the people.

See the crumbs these guys serve us in the name of journalism. So AKUME is no more Tinubu's candidate like they have made us to believe, it is now Lawan.
Kontinu!

Na dem sabi.

POPdecorator:
don't worry after buhari stablized oil price he we also stablize brain price so u can afford it

Palm oil or Vegetable Oil?

That awkward moment when it starts to dawn on you that you have invented a run-away behemoth of a robot that may one day come back to swallow you. .

My only fear for PMB administration is his relationship with people like Tinubu. People like him shouldn't be anywhere Nigerian politics again.

ECOTERRORS:
Tinubu is going down

it is only those that have gone down already that are looking for others to join them.
Babe, you are down!

Dollyak:
My only fear for PMB administration is his relationship with Tinubu.

just face your front.

Tinubu should be an elder stateman thereby allowing the senators to choose their leaders.

Caseless:
just face your front.

Face wetin? Make sense for once in your life.

Caseless:
it is only those that have gone down already that are looking for others to join them.
Babe, you are down!

Do you know Tinubu is said to be worth over $1Billion? As much as he revived Lagos economy his corruption should not be overlooked.
Nigeria has one of the worst GINI coefficients and you are seemingly defending these kind of man? To also put into perspective, Nigerians(politicians) are the third biggest investors in London properties and you are still defending this kind of people.
You should be getting mad.

Tinubu thought all his amateur politricks can work outside his daft region.

Tinubu knows he can never control Saraki,they're both God father's in their own right,Tinubu feels Saraki will become more powerful than him if he emerges to be senate president and he hates to see that,he'd do anything possible for Saraki not to emerge as senate president

Caseless:
just face your front.

Wetin dey worry you sef?

Must everybody be a blind change chanting zombie like you?

Dollyak:

Face wetin? Make sense for once in your life.

face your front. I wont repeat this with subtlety.

Dollyak:
My only fear for PMB administration is his relationship with people like Tinubu. People like him shouldn't be anywhere Nigerian politics again.

Tinubu is addicted to corruption,he can't live without bending the rules

SHARIAREPORTERS:

U nid a chilled bottle of "camel" piss as prescribed by muhamMAD

i want to buybull

SHARIAREPORTERS:
D fall and d fall of tinubu
D guy don enter on chance
Baba na learner wen it comes to federal politics
Him be local champion
Lol
#dancing shoki

Tinubu a learner ? Yet Tinubu bring down the fall of pdp at the federal level, dont forget he has Osinbajo and one thing is certain he cant loss both senate president and speaker .
Thumbs up To Jagaban

Caseless:
See the crumbs these guys serve us in the name of journalism. So AKUME is no more Tinubu's candidate like they have made us to believe, it is now Lawan.
Kontinu!

But it was widely reported that Tinubu dropped Akume already.

Anyway, I see Saraki becoming the next Senate president as long as the president doesn't interfere which I will prefer him not to.

With Saraki as the Senate President, how bright will Gbaja's chances of clinching the Speakership still be is what I don't know.

Caseless:
face your front. I wont repeat this with subtlety.

Eeyah.. a shortsighted grown man saying face your front.... Go in peace and may God smash an ounce of senses into you. Bye.

iamrealdeji:
Tinubu is addicted to corruption,he can't live without bending the rules

Then people should be able to protest(either violently) for change. I went to Ilesha last year and was disturbed by a 80 plus year old woman carrying big log of wood on her head and yet people are defending politicians. Really sad all through.

tinubu nids to chill its obvious saraki is goin to win cos most pdp senators re goin to vote for saraki

Tinubu wonna try the north with eko politics, he gat to beware!

This is getting interesting... The consortium of conspirators and propagandists hitting hard on themselves after taking "down" their common "enemy".

Caseless:
See the crumbs these guys serve us in the name of journalism. So AKUME is no more Tinubu's candidate like they have made us to believe, it is now Lawan.
Kontinu!

Lawan and Akume are running a joint ticket- Lawan for president and Akume Deputy.