The All Progressives Congress is divided over the choice of leadership of the National Assembly. In the build-up to the contest for the principal offices of both chambers of the federal parliament, three power blocks have emerged in the APC. The camps are canvassing for different geo-political zones and candidates to clinch the coveted seats, particularly those of the Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives. Already, North-East and North-Central zonal chapters of the APC have canvassed for the zoning of the Senate Presidency to their respective zones, warning of dire consequences if the national leadership of the party fails to zone the office to either of them.

The South-South and South-East are out of the race for the Senate Presidency because the only APC senator from the two zones is a new member from Edo State. North-West and South-West are out of the race because the zones produced the president and vice president for the incoming administration.

The national leadership of the party will meet in Abuja between Monday and Wednesday to deliberate on the zoning of the legislative offices. APC won majority seats in both the Senate and House of Representatives in the March 28 poll. In the Senate, APC secured 60 seats while the Peoples Democratic Party got 49 slots.

In the House, APC secured more than 250 seats while the PDP got a little above 100. Impeccable sources told Sunday Telegraph that some powerful forces in the party with the support of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, are canvassing for the zoning of the office of the Senate President to the North-East and the Speakership to the South-West.

The Buhari/Tinubu camp also favours the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmad Lawan, as Senate President. Lawan, who hails from the North-Eastern State of Yobe, is one of the most experienced lawmakers in the Senate. He holds Master’s and Doctorate degrees. He spent two terms in the House between 1999 and 2007.

He was elected into the Senate in 2007 and reelected in 2011. He will be serving his third term in the Senate from June 2015. A member of the National Working Committee of the party told Sunday Telegraph that the four North- East governors – Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), and Governors- elect Jibrila Bindow (Adamawa) and Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi) have thrown their weight behind Lawan.

The same forces are also rooting for the House Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. But Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is leading other forces pushing for the zoning of the Senate President to the North-Central with a former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, as the favourite for the office. Amaechi, the director-general of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, is contending that the New PDP that coalesced into the APC must get the coveted seat, given the sacrifices it made for the success of the opposition party. Former governor of Benue State and Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, is also constituting the third force. Akume has set his eyes on the Senate Presidency since 2007 when he was first elected as a senator.

He has been holding talks with his colleagues, soliciting for their support to clinch the seat. The former governor is also kicking against zoning the office to the North-East.

“Zoning the office to the North-East will be a deliberate attempt to shut out Akume and Saraki. We will resist this,” a senator told Sunday Telegraph. Though PDP has lost its majority status in the incoming Eighth Assembly scheduled for inauguration in June, Senate President David Mark is still exploring the possibility of a division within the ranks of APC to make a deft move for the office. Mark is already reaching out to some APC senators for support while holding firmly to the PDP senators in the event that the contest is thrown open.

Former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Yerima, is reportedly backing Mark’s third term bid despite the fact that the Senate’s configuration is not in his favour. Mark has a solid war chest to sway senators to his side if APC fails to manage the situation. Lawan’s supporters believe he is the only one with a clean record among the contestants for the Senate President. Saraki and Akume have pending corruption cases. But an aide of Saraki told Sunday Telegraph that nothing would stand in the way of the former governor.

“Senator Saraki has made enough sacrifice for the APC and he is eminently qualified for the senate president. “As of today, he has not been indicted for any corrupt practice. So, those playing up the corruption card should know that they cannot smear his character in the quest for the Senate leadership.

“But I can tell you that Senator Saraki has shown interest in the Senate Presidency. He has been holding consultations with party leaders, stakeholders and his colleagues across party lines on how to realise his ambition. So, we are waiting for the position of the party leadership on the zoning of the National Assembly position for us to decide on the next line of action.” It was learnt that the leadership of the APC would also deliberate on how to handle the fallout of the National Assembly contest.

“We are worried about the aftermath of zoning the Senate Presidency to the North-East. We want to carefully work on ways to manage the effect especially from Senators Saraki and Akume,” a source said. The challenge is that if the Senate Presidency goes to the North-East, it means the North-Central has lost out because the only office that the zone might have is either Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives or Majority Leader of the Senate. This may not be enough to placate the North-Central, Akume, Saraki and the Amaechi camp. The Rivers governor is still embittered that his camp lost the vice presidency.

•Text courtesy of New Telegraph on Sunday. Photo shows Tinubu and Buhari.

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