The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, Monday in Abuja vowed not to step down for Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North), in the race for Senate Presidency. Ndume, who made the pledge in the State House after holding a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said he was still busy making consultations on his ambition. Ndume who declined to answer questions from State House correspondents was however asked to confirm rumors that he had stepped down for Lawan.
But shocked by the claim, the senator who had declined granting interviews, found it imperative to deny the allegation as he swiftly interjected, saying, “Me? Step down? I’m consulting.” His reaction smacked of strong commitment to his pursuit which ruled out the possibility of any future withdrawal from the race. Asked why he was in the State House, he said the “VP is my oga; I came to see him.”
It is worth-noting that the public endorsement of the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, as the next Senate President by the APC leadership has created a schism among some of the Senators-elect, who are vowing to resist the imposition. Senator Ndume, had criticized the reported adoption of Lawan, saying it was at variance with Section 50 (1a) of the amended 1999 constitution of Nigeria, which gave the members-elect the explicit right to elect their leaders on the floor of the Assembly.
Some other Senators-elect from the North East, where the APC has zoned the Senate Presidency to, also opposed the adoption of Lawan as the issue was never discussed with the new legislators. They even added another dimension to the adoption of Lawan, saying the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, who celebrated his 67th birthday with a colloquium in Abuja last Thursday, was out to ‘colonize’ the National Assembly ahead of his presidential ambition in 2023.
They have therefore advised President Buhari against handing over the National Assembly to Tinubu. A cross-section of the Senators-elect, said the recommendation by the APC that Lawan should be considered for the Senate presidency was a plot to hand over parliament to Tinubu.
One of the Senators-elect told Huhuonline.com on condition of anonymity that, since Tinubu had produced the Vice President in the person of Yemi Osinbajo and the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, other contributors to the victory of the party, should also be rewarded.
“Lawan and Gbajabiamila are the candidates of Asiwaju. If they have their ways, it means Tinubu has extended his hold to the parliament. Already, he has the Vice President and the National chairman. What else is left for others?” adding: “People are just keeping quiet, because of their respect for Buhari, who believes that it’s payback time for Tinubu. It’s shouldn’t be so at all, because other people contributed and they should be rewarded, accordingly.”
Another ranking Senator from the North West said the quest by Tinubu to conquer the National Assembly was simply to lay the foundation for his 2023 presidential ambition. “He deliberately brought his colloquium to Abuja, as against Lagos, his usual venue, because he wants to conquer the country. He feels that it’s time for him to do so. He has pocketed Lagos and he is leaving no stone unturned to pocket the country. Some of us are of the view that neutral candidates should be considered for the National Assembly leadership and not those whose allegiance will be for Tinubu and not the country.”
The PDP Senate caucus is also interested in who becomes the next Senate President. For now, it has said all Senators-elect have constitutional right to aspire to be Senate President, when the Ninth Senate is inaugurated in June. At the last count, the party has 42 Senators-elect and may spring a surprise by backing APC Senator-elect outside the choice of the party as the presiding officer of the next Senate.
