- Sources warn of protests against party’s choice of candidates
By Yemi Yusuf
The All Progressives Congress National Working Committee has nominated Godswill Akpabio and Abass Tajudeen as the next Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker respectively.
According to a list made available to The New Diplomat, the South-South will produce the Senate President while the North-West produces both the Speaker and the Deputy Senate President in the persons of Hon Abbas Tajudeen from Kaduna State and Senator Barau Jibrin from Kano State respectively. Hön Ben Kalu from the South Eastern state of Abia is slated for Deputy Speaker.
The nominations of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly are already generating protests as some members vowed to oppose the party’s choices.
Yesterday eleven senators from the South-East issued a communique alleging marginalisation against their zone and warning that they would only support a candidate from the zone for Senate President. They said it was the least that the zone deserved in the current political dispensation in Nigeria.
The New Diplomat sources warn that members of the House of Representatives who are contesting the Speakership position with Hon Abbas have decided not to support him for the post.
“Watch out, they will be making their position clear by tomorrow,” said a source close to one of the groups.
If the party is not able to secure the support of these groups, it is likely that the plan of the APC to have its nominees accepted as consensus candidates without any elections when the new house begins will not succeed.
The party risks members of the National Assembly supporting candidates other than the ones sanctioned by the APC, and ensuring that winners are decided in the elections that would be held during the first seatings of the two houses of assembly.
The last time this occurred, both Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Dogara defeated the candidates of the party, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hön Femi Gbajabiamila who had to wait four more years to become presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
