There is yet uncertainty about who become the Senate Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip in the 10th Assembly, which was inaugurated a fortnight ago, precisely on June 13, 2023.

This was as the immediate past Governor of River State, Nyezom Wike, visited the Senate Leadership on Thursday evening, to allegedly lobby for his preferred candidates in the leadership of the minority caucus.

It was learnt from reliable sources in the Senate, that Senators Opeyemi Baamidele; Ali Ndume, Abdulfatai; Osita Izunaso and Sani Musa are eyeing the office of the Senate Leader.

It was also gathered that a former Governor of Abia State and 9th Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who was a major contender in the last 10th Senate Presidency race, is also interested in the office of the Senate Leader.

A very strong Senate source said that Kalu was working towards securing the position of the Senate Leader as compensation for his last-minute stepping down for Godswill Akpabio, who was the ruling party’s preferred candidate.

Meanwhile, one of the sources said it was not yet clear who would finally emerge as the Senate Leader, just as the source said that it was not obvious who the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President of the Senate, would support in the distribution of the remaining leadership offices.

Strong indication emerged on Thursday in Abuja that the biggest of the minority political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may not have its way on choices of minority leaders at both chambers.

In a related development, there was a desperate move towards blocking the choices of the opposition PDP for the minority leadership positions of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as Wike, held a marathon meeting with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio in his office on Thursday.

At the end of the meeting, Wike, left the Senate wing of the National Assembly at about 6:30 pm in the convoy of Godswill Akpabio, Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau and other Senators like Salihu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), Jibril Isah (APC Kogi East ) as well as the recently appointed Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel.

One of the sources at the meeting, who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity, told our Correspondent that Wike’s plan with the leadership of the Senate was to have a minority leader not chosen by PDP but by his (Wike’s) own faction within the Party.

According to the source, though the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are being careful with the plan they also believe that if Wike succeeds in factionalising the caucuses of PDP at both Chambers, having unpopular minority leaders from their folds is possible.

“Having assisted APC to win the presidential election in Rivers State in February, supported the aspirations of the now elected four presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly at the inauguration, making his loyalists among the elected federal lawmakers from PDP is his plan now.

“He is very serious about the plan and getting the required support from the leadership of the National Assembly as well as membership of the other minority political parties in both the Senate and the House of Representatives,” said the source.

As provided for by relevant laws and rules of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, apart from the two presiding officer positions, eight principalship positions are also to be occupied by elected lawmakers on the platforms of both the ruling and minority political parties.

The four principal positions in the Senate meant for elected lawmakers on the platform of the ruling party are the Senate Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Whip.

The four principal positions for elected senators on the platforms of the minority political parties are Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

It was learnt from another source privy to the alleged ongoing lobby for the remaining leadership offices in the National Assembly that Wike was working to see the emergence of Senator Abdul Ningi as the Senate minority Leader, just as Wike is allegedly pushing for Kingsley Chinda for the position of minority Leader in the House of Representatives.

In the 10th Senate, the membership configuration indicates that APC has 59 Senators, PDP 36, Labour Party 8, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 2, Social Democratic Party (SDP) 2, APGA 1 and YPP 1. (New Telegraph)

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