Planned political solution aimed at resolving the logjam in the leadership of the Senate appeared to have run into a hitch, following refusal of the incumbent Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, to resign.



The planned political solution, which had been accepted by Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) was aimed at implementing the leadership structure preferred by the APC in the Senate.



National chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had on June 24, written the Senate President to propose the names of four senators who were to assume the Majority Leadership positions in the Senate.



Odigie-Oyegun’s letter had named Senator Ahmed Lawan (North-East) as Majority Leader; Professor Sola Adeyeye (South-West) as Chief Whip; George Akume (North-Central) as Deputy Majority Leader and Abu Ibrahim (North-West) as Deputy Chief Whip.



But Saraki had named Senator Ali Ndume as Senate Leader, Bala Na’allah as Deputy Leader, Sola Adeyeye as Senate Chief Whip and Senator Francis Alimikhena as Deputy Majority Whip.



The development incensed the party, which has been up in arms against Saraki since then.



A committee, headed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has been working on the planned political solution aimed at finding a middle ground for the Senate Leadership and Saraki.



Dogara, who has been working with the party’s national chairman and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had proposed a way out of the current APC leadership in the Senate and a replacement with those originally proposed by the APC.



Only Senator Sola Adeyeye, the Chief Whip, would retain his seat if the political solution option works out.



But sources in the National Assembly told the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday, that the incumbent Majority Leader, Ali Ndume, has rejected the offer that he resigns.



While the others, including Bala Ibn Na’Allah and Francis Alimikhena were said to have agreed to the offer if it would bring peace between the party and the Senate, Ndume was said to have flatly rejected the offer to resign, insisting that he was voted for by his colleagues in the North-West caucus.



Ndume, who was said to have been invited to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Monday night, was said to have been told to accept the offer to resign, so as not to keep delaying the peace deal.



Sources indicated that the meeting, which was coordinated by Osinbajo, also had in attendance Odigie-Oyegun, Senator Danjuma Goje and Ndume.



The Borno senator was said to have insisted that having been elected by his colleagues from the North-East, he can only quit the position at their instance, adding that the Presidency should not put the blame of his emergence on Saraki.



He was said to have held the meeting that he was voted for as Senate Leader having lost the contest for the Deputy President of the Senate position.



He was also said to have insisted that the party cannot sanction him, because he had been winning election in his area, even when he was not in the party.



The Senate Leader was said to have said that having emerged the Senate Leader by the votes of a majority of the senators from the North-East, Saraki cannot unilaterally remove him.



A source also said that Ndume reminded the meeting that the caucus had pre-eminence over the appointments into the leadership positions, as according to him, the Senate Chief Whip, Sola Adeyeye, did not assume office until the South-West Caucus wrote the Senate President to communicate his appointment.



Also on Thursday, sources said the APC leadership in the Senate insisted on the suspension of plenary on Wednesday, to ensure Saraki continued to preside over the session after his appearance at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).



Sources insisted that the leadership had weighed the option of Ike Ekweremadu presiding over the screening of minister-nominees and opined that the option could be dangerous for the APC.
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