Ahead of inauguration of the 9th Senate in June, the race for its leadership has begun in earnest among 64 senators already declared winners on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Also, as it was in 2015, 40 senators so far declared winners on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are already strategising on block votes for a candidate to be supported within the ranks of the APC for the position of Senate Presidency.
The scenario that played out in June 2015, which led to Senator Bukola Saraki’s emergence as president of the 8th Senate and Ike Ekweremadu as deputy senate president on bi-partisan arrangement, may repeat itself.
Already, there are emerging interests in the race coming from different senators within the APC camp, particularly from those from North-east and North-central since there is no ranking APC senator from the South-east for now.
Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu (APC Imo North), who would have been considered a ranking senator from the South-east for the number one presiding job in the Senate, is yet to be declared winner or loser in the National Assembly election conducted last Saturday.
If Uwajumogu eventually fails to come back, the position of Senate president would definitely be taken to North-east or North-central by the APC leadership as it was in 2015.
With this arrangement, it is believed that high ranking APC senators like Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North), Ali Ndume (Borno South), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) and Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) may be eyeing the number one seat in the legislature.
While Lawan, based on sources within the APC camp, can be considered as the party’s choice for now, Ndume and Adamu are positioning themselves as possible alternatives whenever the party leadership eventually takes up the matter.
Though Senator Goje has not in any way, either through comment, carriage or body language, shown interest in the race, but reliable sources within the APC camp, revealed that he may end up being the dark horse in the race in the eventuality of rejection of the three others.
According to reliable sources, Lawan, by virtue of his present position as Senate Leader and being the most ranking parliamentarian in the coming 9th Senate, may automatically have it. However, senators across party lines, who are former governors, numbering about 13 in the coming 9th Senate, may prefer one of their colleagues to occupy the position.
According to one of the sources within the APC caucus, “Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe state who is coming to represent Yobe East in the 9th Senate, may feel uncomfortable with Ahmed Lawan’s Senate presidency, the same way Okorocha will not want Uwajumogu to win his election in Imo North as elected senator, let alone, occupying the position of presidency of the 9th Senate”.
“With 64 senators already in the kitty of the APC for the 9th Senate, 40 for the PDP, one for the YPP and the remaining four seats yet to be declared from Plateau, Taraba and Imo states, respectively, the APC caucus surely needs to be careful in avoiding what happened in June 2015 with a bi-partisan leadership.”
Out of the 64 APC senators already confirmed, 14 are from South-west, two from South-east, three from South-south, 20 from North-west, 13 from North-east and 11 from North-central.
The bulk of 40 seats being paraded by the PDP comes from South-south with 15 senators, 11 from South-east, four from South-west, 4 from North-central for now, four from North-east, one from North-west and one from FCT.
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