Senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress who make up the North Central Caucus are divided over the choice of Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, and Senator Bukola Saraki to succeed incumbent President of the Senate, Senator David Mark.
While some serving senators who have won their return bid to the Red Chamber are rooting for Akume to succeed Mark, others, especially some newly elected ones, are supporting Saraki for the position.
Regardless, some ranking senators from the North Central, it was learnt, are mulling the option of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State, “as our consensus candidate because some former governors, even from the North West, are also eyeing the Senate president’s seat”.
A source added: “They are telling the party to discard the ranking rule in the Senate.”
A ranking senator from a state close to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who confided in The Eagle Online, explained that Akume was preferred over Saraki because “Akume is accessible and pragmatic.
“He is even ‘senior’ to Saraki because he has been in the chamber since 2007.”
Another colleague added that Akume, having been a principal officer for four years, should also be considered.
The source said after all, “he has been a principal officer now for four years and he has the requisite experience”.
Some Senators from the North Central say Saraki may not be accessible when he becomes the Senate president and secondly, he is rumoured to have his eyes on the Presidency in 2019.
“We can’t trust him with that office,” a third senator noted.
Another factor in favour of Lawan is “the corruption cases hanging on the neck of some of those jostling for the Senate presidency.
A source said: “Lawan has no corruption case hanging on his neck and he is even the most ranking senator from the North in the APC right now.”
If the APC considers the ranking rule strictly, Lawan has an edge as he has been a lawmaker since 1999.
He served two terms in the House of Representatives and he will start his third term as a senator in June.
On Tuesday, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Barnabas Gemade had canvassed support for the ambition of Akume to become the next Senate president.
Gemade, an All Progressives Congress member from the Benue North-East Senatorial District, in a statement in Abuja described Akume as the highest ranking senator from the North Central geopolitical zone and the most qualified for the position.
Trending
- Sanwo-Olu: We’ve fulfilled our promises
- Upholding Democracy: The imperative of credible party primaries in Nigeria, by Adebanji Dada
- FG revokes 924 dormant mining licences as minister decries racketeering
- Why I didn’t build schools as Anambra governor, Peter Obi replies Omokri
- Establish base in Sambisa forest, Zulum tells Army
- EFCC withdraws appeal against former Kogi Governor Bello
- Fidelity Bank commends Air Peace’s performance
- How AI, automation, and trusted data are shaping next-generation customer service, by Linda Saunders