An immediate former governor and certain All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators are said to be mobilizing against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce the Senate Minority Leader in the 10th National Assembly.
According to news reports, the APC has 59 senators, the PDP has 36, the Labour Party (LP) has eight, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has two, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has two, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has one, and the Young Peoples Party (YPP) has one.
The ruling party is reportedly aiming to have one of the minor parties produce the Senate Minority Leader before plenary resumes.
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According to ThisDay, the immediate former governor of one of the South-South states, who is also a member of the PDP, has gathered troops to prevent his party from fielding the Senate Minority Leader.
According to the newspaper’s investigation, the former governor is eager to influence the selection of minority leaders in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Last week, the former governor, who is accused of collaborating with President Bola Tinubu’s government’s operatives, attended a marathon meeting with the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in the Senate President’s office in Abuja.
According to reports, the PDP chieftain wants his loyalty in one of the minority parties to become Senate Minority Leader, while his loyalist in the PDP becomes House Minority Leader.
According to ThisDay, former Senate Minority Leader Enyinnaya Abaribe has been named Senate Minority Leader, with the PDP’s overwhelming majority strategizing to produce a candidate for the position.
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According to Senate sources who were present at the meeting, the group discussed methods to prevent the PDP from gaining minority leadership posts in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The PDP has chosen the immediate past governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, as Senate Minority Leader, while the former governor is opposed to the idea.
Tambuwal, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly, was thought to be the ideal choice to provide Tinubu’s government with a strong opposition.
On the condition of anonymity, a senator in the PDP Senate caucus told the publication that bringing Tambuwal on board would create a vibrant opposition to the new administration.
However, after a marathon meeting with Akpabio, the former governor of a South-South state departed the Senate wing of the National Assembly at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in the convoy of Akpabio and the Senate Deputy President, Senator Jibrin Barau.
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Senators Salihu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), Jibril Isah (APC Kogi East), and Senator Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel, President Tinubu’s newly designated Senior Special Assistant, National Assembly Matters (Senate), were also in the convoy.
According to a source at the meeting, the former governor’s strategy with Senate leadership was to have a minority leader picked not by the PDP but by his own loyalists within the party.
He said: “The former governor from the South-south and suspected agents of Tinubu’s administration have zeroed in on a former Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe.”
Abaribe resigned as minority leader of the 9th Senate after defecting from the PDP to the APGA. He did, however, return to the 10th Senate under the APGA platform.
Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Deputy Minority Whip are the four primary roles for Senators elected on the platforms of minority political parties.
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