A fresh twist appears to have deepened the crisis over the race for the Senate presidency and speakership of the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly, as four main contenders at the weekend engaged in alliance talks.
This is even as the North Central zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is set on a warpath with the leadership of the governing party over the speakership position.
Leaders of the governing party, including president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and governors on the party's platform had on Friday endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio and Hon Tajudeen Abbas as Senate president and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.
Similarly, Senator Barau Jubrin, Kano North Senatorial district (North West) was picked as Deputy President of the Senate, even as the position of deputy Speaker of the House was given to the outgoing spokesman of the 9th Assembly, Hon Benjamin Kalu, who represents Bende federal constituency of Abia State.
Our sister publication, LEADERSHIP Sunday, had reported yesterday that stiff opposition was gradually mounting against the consensus candidates of the party, with federal lawmakers in the race for the leadership of the National Assembly not willing to give up their ambitions.
But LEADERSHIP gathered that Leaders of the governing party, including president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and governors on the party's platform had on Friday endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio and Hon Tajudeen Abbas.
It was learnt that the speakership front runners, Ahmed Idris Wase (current deputy Speaker), Aliyu Murktar Betara (chairman, House committee on Appropriation), Sada Soli and Sani Jaji met on Saturday night.
At the meeting held at the private residence of one of them in Maitama District, Abuja, it was learnt that the aspirants agreed to work together and present a common front.
The meeting of the four lawmakers came 24 hours after that Abbas from Kaduna State had been adopted as the preferred choice of what a source described as the 'Lagos cabal' led by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
This is even as a crack emerged in the Lagos State House of Representatives caucus over the purported adoption and endorsement of Abbas as the preferred choice of Tinubu.
A close confidant of Tinubu and secretary of the now dissolved presidential campaign council, james Faleke, was said to have confronted Gbajabiamila amd accused him of 'misinformation'.
As a prerequisite, the four lawmakers have directed their supporters to attend the declaration of each of them.
Wase, for instance, asked all his supporters to attend the declaration of Betara slated today at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
At the time of filing this report, our source pegged the combined figures of supporters of the four aspirants at 287.
It was, however, unclear who among them was likely to be presented and backed for the speakership contest.
All the same, an impeccable source close to the meeting of the four aspirants hinted that the lawmalers have agreed to present a "formidable common front", just as a joint committee involving their confidants has been set up to harmonise positions and present a workable template within seventy two hours.
The source who did not want his name in print said, "From the onset, we knew what the outgoing Speaker was up to but we merely waited for him to unveil his agenda which he has done now. Interestingly, those of us on this divide do not want to believe Mr President-elect is part of this charade.
"We know he cannot because he knows too well, the implications of such action. It is either he has resolved to use Gbajabiamila to subjugate the north or Gbajabiamila is acting a script without the knowledge of the incoming president.
"In all these we are doing, we respect the president elect even though some persons are dropping his name. We are even more convinced that he knows nothing about what Gbajabiamila is doing because James Faleke is as close as anyone, to the president-elect.
"If Faleke could openly confront Gbajabiamila in their Lagos Reps caucus meeting that the purported endorsement of Abbas by Tinubu is not correct, then something is wrong somewhere".
It was gathered that at the Lagos caucus meeting, Faleke who is the chairman of the House committee on Finance disclosed at the meeting hosted by the Speaker that Tinubu's real choice for the position of Speaker remained Jaji from Zamfara.
He was equally said to have accused Gbajabiamila of deliberate misinformation to the public on the issue of speakership, saying the Abbas adoption was his (speaker's) petsonal agenda and not a decision of the party nor Tinubu's.
Following the development, Gbajabiamila yesterday held secret meetings with the deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Ahmed Wase and the chairman House Committee on Appropriation, Aliyu Mukhtar Betara.
Although details of the meeting were not revealed to our correspondent, a source familiar with the development hinted that Gbajabiamila is jittery about the outcome of an alliance between Wase and Betara against Hon Abass, the candidate reportedly endorsed by the APC and president-elect.
When contacted, the chief press secretary to the Wase, Umar Puma, could not confirm that his principal held a meeting with the Speaker.
He, however, confirmed the meeting with three other aspirants but did not disclose details.
"I honestly cannot confirm that the deputy speaker met with the the speaker. But I know that he help a private meeting with Hon Betara and others," Puma said.
North Central Spoils For War
Meanwhile, as the scramble for key positions in the leadership of the 10th Assembly intensifies, there are indications that the North Central zone of the APC is set on a warpath with the leadership of the governing party over the Speakership position.
Stakeholders of the party from the zone yesterday insisted vehemently that the zone must produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly because it is their turn.
The stakeholders under the aegis of North Central APC Stakeholders stated their position at a press conference in Abuja.
Convener of the stakeholders, Hon Dominic Alancha, told journalists that zoning of the Speakership position to North West was a deliberate attempt to exclude the North Central.
Noting that president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, rode on the party's zoning arrangements to clinch the presidential ticket of the party, the stakeholders said the same APC and Tinubu cannot be violators of the same zoning formula that gave them an easy ride.
Alancha stated: "We are again compelled to invoke our mandate to address you this morning due to an anomaly we have detected in the direction APC leadership in the country is taking in the course of zoning key offices in the 10th Assembly which we feel may not augur well for our democracy.
"We are constrained to register our disappointment and to protest the decision of the APC Leadership to zone two Presiding Positions Deputy Senate President and Speaker in the 10th National Assembly in favour of the Northwest to the total exclusion of the North Central and other zones in the country.
Obi Urges LP Caucus To Back Choice Aspirants
Meanwhile, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has expressed neutrality in the ongoing leadership imbroglio of the 10th Assembly.
Obi, at a meeting with elected lawmakers on the platform of LP in Abuja on Saturday, declined to direct the party's caucus on the choice of leadership for the National Assembly.
Obi, who asked the lawmakers-elect to exercise their discretion, however, advised them to give their support to their preferred aspirants as a group. According to him, such moves would enhance their bargaining power.
The LP caucus of the House of Representatives, also on Saturday, elected Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, of Ogbaru Federal Constituency of Anambra State, as leader of the caucus in the House.
It was learnt that 35 Reps-elect and seven senator-elect, on the platform of LP, were present at the forum.
"We met at K-Class at Wuse in Abuja, on Saturday to elect our leader and discuss the LP position on the leadership of the House of Representatives. Surprisingly, H. E. Peter Obi, said he was not concerned about the direction when we asked him to show us the way. He said we are free to decide on our own but he advised that we should do it together, we should be cohesive. We said we will gain more than when we are scattered," an LP Rep-elect, told LEADERSHIP.
'Tinubu Should Be Neutral'
The Renewed Hope Professionals has urged the president-elect Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu to maintain neutrality in the ongoing jostle for leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly.
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The professionals in a statement signed by its coordinator, Kinu Kabirwa noted that the operations of the parliament is quite different from regular party politics, therefore, the president elect should be fair to all.
"The parliament operates under the dictum of first among equals and any attempt to foist any form of leadership on members may be counterproductive," Kabiriwa said.
Apparently disturbed by allegations of moves designed to anoint aspirants for key positions in the 10th Assembly, the group of professionals declared that the very cornerstone of a healthy democracy is the freedom of choice, and the imposition of candidates by those in positions of authority has led to a legitimacy crisis in the country since the return to democracy in 1999.
The group asserted that as an advocate for competitive democracy, the president-elect must demonstrate an unwavering commitment to a level playing field for all contestants.
"The APC, under the leadership of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), set a powerful example in the primaries that produced the president-elect as the Flag bearer of the APC. The world saw the beauty of progressive politics when Mr. President insisted on a level playing field for all contestants, and we must not backtrack on this laudable legacy.
Buhari, Tinubu Loyalists Tussle Over Akpabio
Indications have emerged that the loyalists of the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari and the president-elect, Tinubu, may be at loggerheads over the choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the consensus candidate for the senate presidency of the 10th National Assembly.
It was learnt that some loyalists of President Muhammadu Buhari frown at the selection of Akpabio who consider his choice as not positive for the fight against corruption, because of his alleged corruption cases by anti-graft agency.
It was further learnt that over the weekend some Buhari's close associates held a strategic meetings on how to use the political means and government institutions to stop the senator-elect.
According to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, Akpabio's choice did not go down well with most core loyalists of the president and they have informed him of the implications.
