Intrigues, high drama at N’Assembly leadership elections

THE intrigues, suspense and denouement surrounding the election of the National Assembly leadership yesterday could qualify as the handiwork of a master story teller.

Many predictions fell flat, pundits theorised only to wonder how they read it so wrongly though, a few got it right. But the high drama finds summary in the fact that Senator Bukola Saraki, former Governor of Kwara State who represents Kwara Central on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was elected Senate President by 57 of his colleagues out of 108 while for Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, dark horse from Bauchi defeated the more-favoured Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos State with eight votes.

As it happened in 2011 when the PDP could not get its members in the lower chamber to elect Mulikat Adeola Akande as the Speaker in an election that threw up Aminu Tambuwal in a horse-trading that signaled the beginning of revolt in the party, the ruling APC failed to have its way in the choice of the leadership of the parliament.

Expectedly, the APC has faulted the process while the PDP, basking in a new-found glory that would define role as an opposition platform, welcomed the development.