Senate Presidency: Saraki Consolidates as Lawan’s Group Hits the Rock

Sen. Bukola Saraki

•   Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara pledge support for ex-governor.Chuks Okocha in AbujaThe battle for the Senate leadership appears to have assumed a new twist as one of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, was said to have begun to lobby some of the outgoing governors of the party to prevail on former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, to step down for his candidate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, since efforts to outwit the Saraki group have continued to hit a brick wall.

The former Lagos governor was said to have taken further steps in his push for Lawan when a majority of the APC senators, even in the South-west were said to have signed up for Saraki and efforts to convince them otherwise through their governors have not yielded the desired result.

It was against this backdrop that Tinubu, early last week, allegedly met with two outgoing North-west governors – Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Ibrahim Wamakko of Sokoto State, whom he pleaded with to support Lawan and also speak to their senators to do same.

But the former Sokoto State governor, according to sources, told him it was late because they had not only given their words, but also signed an undertaking to that effect, adding that any attempt to act otherwise could elicit a moral debate; but, with Kwankwaso he was able to extract a commitment.

Also last week Thursday, the North-west caucus of

senators-elect met, except Kano caucus and Senator Kabir Marafa in Sokoto, where they all agreed to work with Saraki.

At the meeting, the former Governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, volunteered to speak to Marafa and Kwankwaso to join other North-west caucus in supporting Saraki.

The seeming inauspiciousness of the Lawan project allegedly became pronounced when the unity forum, a group of the APC senators-elect under the chairmanship of Senator Barnabas Gemade, who are promoting Lawan, hit the rock with other APC senators-elect, in their efforts to swell the numbers of the party’s senators supporting their candidate.

The Lawan group had promised to make public, the signatures of senators supporting Lawan but the reality on the ground showed that they did not have the numbers.

Thus, in an effort to save face, Tinubu was said to have started a new leg walk with a view to wooing more senators into their fold by directly speaking to the governors.

It was gathered that although some of the senators were approached and pressured by their governors to reconsider their stand, especially those from the South-west states and shift allegiance to Unity Forum, they have refused to yield.

Sources hinted that most of the senators that were approached for support and signature declined based on the fact that their integrity would be at stake if they shift allegiance to Lawan after having giving their commitment to Senator Saraki’s aspiration.

According to a source, one of the senators approached said, “We’ve already committed our support to Senator Saraki, a signed letter has been sent to the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the document is already in the public domain. How do you want people to see us, as treacherous beings and inconsistent fellows?”

THISDAY learnt that since the Tinubu’s trip to the North-west failed to yield results, especially knowing full well that the Saraki list is not a fluke, coming from the party chairman, who presented it to the other leaders, the Lawan group has been worried and have begun to ponder other strategies to contain the Saraki group.

Also, THISDAY gathered that Wamakko, who is a senator-elect, has urged Tinubu to emulate President Muhammadu Buhari who has elected to be neutral in who emerges as the next senate president.

Wammako, who spoke when Tinubu and the former interim National Chairman of APC, Bisi Akande visited Sokoto State, said Tinubu should as the leader of the party be neutral and allow the senators to chose their leaders.

The meeting that has in attendance the new governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, told Tinubu that it would be in the overall interest of the ruling party to allow the senate choose their leaders and avoid unnecessary interference

The decision of the three states of North-west to vote for Saraki, it was gathered, has depleted the ranks of senators supporting Lawan quest for senate presidency.

THISDAY reliably gathered that at meeting held in Sokoto last Thursday with all the elected and returning senators to the eighth senate, the three states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara said they had decided to vote for Saraki due to his leadership qualities.

The only abstention at the meeting, it was gathered, was Senator Kabiru Marafa who is a known supporter of Lawan, but the former governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, was mandated by the meeting to speak to Marafa to retrace his support for Lawan and join other senators from the three states and support Saraki.

According to the source that spoke to THISDAY, “We chose to support Saraki because he had once held executive powers as a governor for eight years and has therefore shown his ability to manage people. The senate is an assemblage of matured and senior citizens and therefore needs the head that can manage people and with proven ability on leadership. This we found in Saraki.”

It further gathered that the meeting of the senators was attended by the three governors of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States.

With this latest development of support for Saraki, the support base of the former governor has now extended to the North-west, South-east, South-south, South-west, North-central and North-east with more than 70 senators across the political parties rooting for Saraki as the next senate presidentam
SOURCE:http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/senate-presidency-saraki-consolidates-as-lawan-s-group-hits-the-rock/210864/

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