How PDP can win •APC in make or break meeting with senators
Written by: Taiwo Adisa -Abuja

A meeting of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress(APC) with senators elect of the 8th National Assembly ended in a deadlock on Saturday following the failure of the contending forces to agree on modalities for voting.

Senators Bukola Daraki and Ahmad Lawan are locked in battle for the position of senate president, following the withdrawal of senator George Akume in favour of Lawan.

Sources close to the meeting told the Sunday Tribune that the two groups failed to agree on whether the voting exercise should be done by secret or open ballot.

While the Lawan group was said to favour Open ballot, the Saraki group was said to have insisted on Secret ballot,

It was gathered that the Saraki group insisted on secret ballot because the same measure was adopted in the primaries conducted among members of the House of Representatives earlier in the day.

As a result of the deadlock, the two contenders were mandated by the party to nominate five senators each to meet with the a national Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun.

The meeting was said to be underway at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel on Saturday.

It also emerged the notwithstanding the denial by the Peoples democratic Party(PDP) that it was not eyeing the post of senate president in the 8th National Assembly, a candidate of the opposition party can still emerge the President of the senate in the new dispensation.

Investigations by the Sunday Tribune on Saturday indicated that Senators of the All Progressives Congress(APC) have now reduced to 58, following the failure of a senator elect from Niger state to secure his certificate of return from the independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).

An elected senator can only gain access to the senate chamber on presentation of his certificate of return and the clearance of the Code of Conduct Bureau.

As a result of the reduction in the number of APC senators that would be eligible for voting on Tuesday, anyone nominated from the PDP can clinch the senate Presidency with just five votes from APC lawmakers.

Sources in the senate told the Sunday Tribune that unless the APC manages the issue of contention for the senate presidency carefully, any dissent among its members would automatically yield the seat to a candidate of the PDP.

It was believed that senator David Mark, who served as senate a President of the immediate past seventh senate could be waiting in the wings for a slip from the APC.

The development is coming on the heels of a statement from the Senate Unity Forum, the group loyal to Senator Lawan which indicated that it would nor uncover its members in the media contrary to the demand by the Like Mind senators loyal to Saraki.

The Like Mind Senators loyal to Saraki had in a statement signed by Senator Dino Melaye and Ahmed Yerima on Friday asked the Lawan group to publicize its list of supporters just as the Daraki group had done a week ago.

By the Unity Forum, in a statement on Saturday said it was not ready to unveil its members whom it said have already endorsed a letter to the APC national Chairman.

The statement asked the Like Mind Senators to approach the National Chairman of APC if they were desirous of knowing the names of the Unity Forum members.

The statement read in part: “While explaining that five senators out of the 40 members of the Unity Forum were unavoidably absent in Abuja to sign the letter last Wednesday, leaving the 35 quoted in media, the statement added that the party, “ remains the main body that should be in the know of details of senators-elect that had signed on to the Lawan/Akume ticket and the party has the full list.”

“Election into the principal offices of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should not be seen in the light certain types of election characterized by pettiness “ .”we are talking of the upper chamber of the National Assembly” the statement added.

“Unity Forum, according to the statement, expresses regrets that their counterparts in the “Like Minds” group are in the name of campaign for the exalted office of the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria taking steps that are unparliamentary and one of them is the call for display of names and signature on the pages of news papers.

“We are advocates of openness and transparency in the electoral process to produce the leaders of the senate as done in all parliaments in the world and the open voting system enshrined in the senate standing orders but that should be carried out in line with the parliamentary standards and not on the pages of Newspapers” the statement added.

“The forum said “After all , during the voting to elect the senate president ,each senator shall vote in the open so that electorate back home will know whom each senator- elect votes for, adding “we should not forget that the senate is the highest law making chamber in our political system and so anything to do with it should be matured and of high degree of decorum”

“The statement noted that thrice in the on-going campaign, the party and others had to issue rebuttal to outrageous claims of the “Like Minds” on zoning of the Senate Presidency to North-Central, conduct of shadow election at the retreat and endorsement by some states, adding that the “ the Lawan/Akume campaigns are issues based and not misinformation of Nigerians.”

http://tribuneonlineng.com/content/senate-presidency-apc-meeting-senators-deadlocked

Pipe Dream

The Truth about dis whole brohaha is dt PDP is now the Beautiful Bride. And whichever PDP members gives their support to wins!

The Truth about dis whole brohaha is dt PDP is now the Beautiful Bride. And whichever PDP members gives their support to wins!

Na Tambuwal Start all these things.
But i believe its good for democracy

Senators Bukola Daraki and Ahmad Lawan are locked in battle for the position of senate president.

just as the Daraki group had done a week ago.

Who is Senator Daraki abeg??

As the dude above me said, PDP is now the beautiful bride! If APC should slip @this important moment, then I give up on them!

Its well but i dont see pdp winning the seat.anyway i prefer lawan to saraki

And let dere be division in apc

let God's will be done

OREMUSSANCTUS:
And let dere be division in apc

unamen

Cant wait for election tribunal to start throwing out many of these senators that rigged themselves (like Theo Orji)

All these blah blah

www.davidshawnibim..com and see for your selves

Who cares? If they like let d house b without a senate president

mteeew

How sweet and good would it have been, if all these brouhaha are in the best interests of the unknown Nigerian.





All is well

[quote author=Waspy post=34535852]How sweet and good would it have been, if all these brouhaha are in the best interests of the unknown Nigerian.





All is well

Tel dem abeg. All dey fite for is dia pocket n dat of dia families