APC governors set for emergency meeting over senate presidency, speakership

Governors elected on the platform of the All progressives Congress (APC) will hold an emergency meeting in another four hours, in a last-ditch effort to resolve tension in the party ahead of Tuesday’s election of principal officers of the national assembly.

Over the weekend, the party held shadow elections for the two candidates gunning for senate presidency and also the two interested in becoming speaker of the federal house of representatives.

While Ahmed Lawan emerged the party’s official candidate to become senate president, Femi Gbajabiamila was chosen to become speaker of the house of reps. However, their opponents – Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, respectively – boycotted the internal election, and are set to defy the party by contesting against the official candidates in Tuesday’s election proper.

After the results were announced, Mai Mala Buni, national secretary of APC, released a statement to say the party was “reaching out to all its members in the incoming 8th national assembly who may be aggrieved after Saturday’s emergence of official candidates for the four topmost offices of the assembly”, saying it was natural for some members to be disappointed by the outcome of the straw poll.

Monday night’s emergency meeting of the governors, which was brokered by Rochas Okorocha, governor of Imo state, will hold at Imo lodge, Askoro, in the federal capital territory, starting from 8pm.

“Your Excellency, I am directed to invite you to emergency meeting of Progressive Governors scheduled to hold as flows: Time: 8.00 pm; date: Monday, June 8, 2015; venue: Imo Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja; agenda: national assembly matters, A. O. B,” read a notice of the meeting.

“HE Owelle Rochas Okorocha appealed that Your Excellencies please create time to attend both this important meeting in order to find amicable resolutions of all contentious issues.”

Also at the weekend, George Akume (Benue north west) was chosen as sole candidate for deputy senate pres‎ident unchallenged, while Mohammed Monguno (Borno) polled 153 votes to be picked as sole candidate for deputy speaker of the house.

But should the defeated candidates go ahead to contest on Tuesday, APC’s shadow election could well become a mere formality.

With a total of 60 senators in the next senate, APC still has 27 senators who didn’t vote on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 49 senators whose votes are crucial to the emergence of a senate president.

Also, with 154 APC lawmakers-elect supporting Gbajabiamila, it means he now needs only 27 more votes to hit the 181 required to become speaker of the 360-man house of representatives. But with its 147 reps, PDP has the chance to pay APC in its own coin. Back in 2011, PDP had earmarked Mulikat Akande to become senate president, only for opposition lawmakers to sabotage the plot by voting for Aminu Tambuwal.