The horse-trading for the Senate President position of the 9th Senate intensified over the weekend, with the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, narrowing its search to one aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, APC.
According to Post Nigeria, the PDP has finalised a joint ticket with the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje, and the outgoing Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu.
It was learnt that Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and influential PDP Leaders, prefer a deal with Goje, who was once a father-figure in the PDP, before he defected to the APC.
The outcome of the proposed alliance will pit the joint Candidate for the Senate against the Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, who has been adopted by President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu.
Investigation revealed that the PDP opted for another alliance, to hijack the Senate Leadership, in order to have a high stake in the 9th National Assembly, and secure a comfortable slot for the South-East, which might be left out of the power sharing at the centre by the APC.
The PDP was said to be interested in a succession plan, which will “sustain the current checks and balances against the Buhari administration”, as symbolised by Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara.
According to findings, Ekweremadu has been holding marathon meetings with some APC Senators-elect, especially those rated as “rebellious and amenable”, in order to get at least 56 simple majority out of 109, to enable the alliance to control the Senate.
It was gathered that the ongoing talks and negotiations have delayed the declaration of Goje, for the Senate Presidency.
At a caucus meeting of the PDP, its Senators and Senators-elect, it was resolved that “all the Senators-elect should stay together, to study the situation until the time for the election of Principal Officers.”
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