Saraki, Dogara defy APC, move to contest NASS leadership

The crisis in the ruling APC over candidates for the leadership of the National Assembly may come out full blown on Tuesday as the legislature meets to select its leaders.

Although the party on Saturday announced Senator Ahmed Lawan as its sole candidate for the post of Senate president, And Femi Gbajabiamila as candidate for the Speaker, House of Representatives, their opponents have faulted the decision.

Senator Bukola Saraki, and Yakubu Dogara eyeing the Senate presidency and Speaker position respectively have intensified lobbying of their colleagues from the APC, as well as from the PDP to vote for them, as they intend to contest against the party’s chosen candidates.

The group of senators canvassing for the emergence of Saraki in a statement by two members, Dino Melaye and Ahmed Rufai-Sani, argued that the APC primary election that produced Senator Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate was manipulated by the leaders.

The senators-elect said the leadership of the party did not carry the Pro-Saraki’s group along while the Lawan group was allegedly informed ahead of the meeting.

The group explained that they went to the Independent Conference Centre, venue of the meeting, with just five members to discuss the modalities for the conduct of the election.

He said, “The Unity Forum (Lawan’s men) insisted on an open ballot voting which we discovered is different from the electoral process used to conduct the earlier election of the House of Representatives members-elect.

…. “As responsible citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leaders in our own right, we have resolved and hereby state that we shall not be part of a process that promotes undemocratic electoral process.

…. “In conclusion, we the Senators-elect of Like Minds wish to state categorically that we will participate only in the Constitutional election scheduled for Tuesday June 9, 2015, in line with the rules of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The group vowed to address a news conference yesterday (on Sunday) with 65 senators-elect across the APC and the PDP, who had already endorsed Saraki’s candidature for the post.

Also on Sunday, the spokesperson for the 8th Assembly Consolidation Group which is Dogara’s campaign body, Abdulmumin Jibrin, warned that the APC was a on a path of self-destruction by sticking to the outcome of the primary.

Jibrin, a former Chairman, House Committee on Finance and contestant for the speakership until last week when he stepped down to support Dogara, insisted that there was no election.

“The mock election is a blatant lie. It was very shameful and disgraceful and the party only made a mockery of itself.

“We walked out of the hall and we never participated in the election. Therefore, the votes allocated to us were a fraud and we will not accept them,” he told a news conference on Sunday.

Jibrin claimed that members of the group had received threats of disciplinary actions from the party since Saturday, but he restated the resolve of Dogara’s supporters to ignore the APC and nominate him (Dogora) for Tuesday’s (tomorrow) election.

The group seized the opportunity to unveil Lasun Yusuf, a member from Osun State, as Dogora’s running mate.

The same Yusuf, had last week, announced that he was backing Gbajabiamila, only to make a U-turn on Sunday.

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