Selection of Senate Leader, Others May Pose Another Challenge for APC

Party's NWC, Tinubu disagree over selection process as peace c’ttee reaches out to Saraki

Indications that there might yet be another crisis unfolding within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) surfaced yesterday following a disagreement between the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over how to produce the candidates for the positions of Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Senate Chief Whip and the Deputy Senate Chief Whip.

Whereas Tinubu prefers that the party handpicks the persons to occupy the positions, the NWC led by John Oyegun wants the various zonal Senate caucuses to nominate their leaders to occupy the said offices.

By Senate tradition, the party in the majority normally sends the offices to the zones where the Senate caucuses would meet and choose who should hold the posts.

THISDAY gathered that the position of the national leader of the APC is causing ripples, as the party’s senators see it as another attempt to impose his loyalists as Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate.

To further his cause, THISDAY gathered that Tinubu has written to the Oyegun-led NWC asking

that the party should nominate the Senate Leader and other principal officers of the Senate.

But Oyegun is not in support of this position, as it would be unfair to impose the Senate Leader and other principal officers of the upper chamber.

A source, who spoke to THISDAY, said the senators are opposed to this directive, as they see it as yet another move to impose leaders on the Senate.

The national chairman of APC, the source said, is wary of this directive because the party got its fingers burnt in the election of the Senate President, his deputy, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy recently, noting that the fallout of that fiasco was yet to dissipate.

At press time, some APC senators were seen holding meetings in one of the major hotels in Abuja on how to handle this situation before the matter gets out of hand.

Speaking on the issue, a ranking senator said: “Steps have been taken by a clique in the party, headed by this national leader, to subvert the subsisting tradition in the Senate with regards to filling the four outstanding leadership positions in the chamber.

“Some of us were just called by some members of the NWC, intimating us of the details of a letter sent to the body that it should just fill the four leadership positions in the Senate.

“In fact, the letter from the South-west leader instructed that the party must take charge and name its preferred candidates for the four offices.”

But the senators are said to be fighting back. Checks within the APC Senate caucus indicated that some senators have already met with some NWC members familiar with the parliamentary tradition and have impressed it on them to “ignore the letter”.

“It’s not done. The tradition is that zonal caucuses which did not produce the Senate President and deputy would meet, nominate among themselves and then, if there is more than one nomination, there would be an election and whoever has the highest votes for the particular office would be the candidate.

“Thereafter, after the positions have been filled, the caucuses would now write the party on the chosen candidates. There are so many factors to be considered in choosing senators that would be in leadership positions. It’s not the duty of the party in this case," said a senator from the North-west zone.

Despite the new crisis brewing over the outstanding posts in the Senate, the leadership of the APC yesterday held talks with Senate President Bukola Saraki in order to reconcile him and his supporters in the Senate and his colleagues under the Unity Forum who were opposed to his emergence as the President of the Senate.

The peace move came on the heels of a meeting of the party’s NWC, which took place yesterday at its national secretariat in Abuja as part of efforts to find solution to the conflict.

It was also apparent that the leadership tussle, which started with the contest for the post of Senate President and House Speaker and has snowballed to include the outstanding leadership positions in the Senate, may have deepened, as Tinubu’s posters had suddenly disappeared from the premises of the secretariat.

The meeting with Saraki was held at an undisclosed venue in Abuja with APC’s National Secretary, MaiMala Buni, and its National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, representing the party’s leadership.

A reliable source, who spoke to THISDAY, said the team also met with the House Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

THISDAY gathered that the meeting may have explored various options to reconcile the new National Assembly leadership with the aggrieved loyalist lawmakers.

“The APC leadership is trying to restore peace and unity to the party. It is trying to dissuade the (Senator Ahmed) Lawan group from going to court because if they go to court, it may deepen the rift in the party and cause permanent damage to intra-

party relations.

“It would also give PDP room to exploit the crisis to its own advantage by playing one faction of APC against the other,” the party source said.

It was learnt that the NWC meeting had to be delayed for hours to enable the peace committee conclude its meeting with Saraki and Dogara.

When accosted by reporters to explain the decisions reached at the NWC meeting, Oyegun said the meeting was not conclusive and that they would be reconvening today to finish their deliberations.

Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, declined to offer any clue on what was discussed.

Following the bad blood that trailed the emergence of Saraki, Dogara and their deputies, the leadership of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari have stepped up efforts to starve off further disaffection and divisions within the party.

Oyegun, after meeting with Buhari, decided to set up a three-man peace committee headed by the national secretary.

Meanwhile, there were indications that the crisis of confidence that has crept into the fold of APC due to the National Assembly elections, may have taken a new dimension evident in the deliberate removal of posters of Tinubu from the walls of the secretariat.

THISDAY became aware of the development when one of the party’s supporters drew reporters' attention to the absence of Tinubu’s posters, even though that of other leaders were left untouched in conspicuous places.