There are signs that Senator Godswill Akpabio’s camp may be having problems as the competition for the position of head of the incoming 10th National Assembly heats up.
According to news sources, there are currently two main camps vying for the position of Senate President: that of Akpabio and that of Abdulaziz Yari, the former governor of Zamfara State.
Recall that the All Progressive Congress (APC) leadership had selected Senators Jibrin Barau (Kano North) and Tajudeen Abass (North West) to serve as the Senate’s president and vice president, respectively, and Kanu (South-East) to serve as the House of Representatives’ deputy speaker.
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Other candidates for the position, including Yari, Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu, and Imo-West senator-elect Osita Izunaso, didn’t agree with the choice and have now formed a coalition to defend Yari.
To solicit more support, both sides held simultaneous meetings on Thursday in Abuja.
According to reports, Chief Olusegun Osoba, the former governor of Ogun State, was humiliated by the senators-elect’s lackluster attendance at the Akpabio-led camp meeting at the Transcorp Hilton. Osoba had been invited as an observer.
According to reports, Osoba departed the meeting feeling quite unhappy with the low attendance rate.
According to rumors that surfaced between Thursday and yesterday, however, there are just 30 senators left in Akpabio’s camp as opposed to the number of senators-elect that were allegedly present at the Thursday meeting in Transcorp.
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Vanguard reports that between Thursday and Sunday morning, the Yari/Izunaso-led camp grew to well than 50, while Senator Akpabio’s camp had less than 30 senators-elect left as of Sunday afternoon.
57 senators-elect physically attended the Yari-led group meeting, with the excuses of 16 other senators-elect who were unable to attend in person, according to statistics gathered at the last meeting of the two camps, which was held concurrently at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel and the Destination by Gidanka, respectively. 21 senators-elect attended the Stability group of Akpabio.
This online news source also knows that at least four of the senators-elect who were present at the last meeting with Akpabio switched their allegiance and camp on Sunday morning to the SDC camp of Yari and Izunaso. According to reports, the four incoming senators come from the South-South and South-West.
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However, there is speculation that, based on their reported numbers thus far, the Yari/Izunaso-led coalition may be in the lead if they win a simple majority of the 109-member Senate.
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