Senate Presidency: The Jinx breakers
APC suffered from inexperience, says PDP
THE election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu as his Deputy marked the climax of one of the most intense political manipulation.
The smooth resolution at the June 1 retreat of all PDP Senators-elect at Port Harcourt to support the candidature of Saraki began the end of the horse-trading that had characterized the campaigns since March 28 when the National Assembly election took place.
Former Senate President, David Mark, had at that retreat, heartily reconciled differences with Ekweremadu over some political disquiet in their camp.
All PDP governors and other key stakeholders who had been in Abuja in the last few weeks pressing some buttons for the emergence of a PDP favoured National Assembly leadership played key roles as most law makers were promptly directed to remain in tune with party resolutions on the matter.
for the All Progressive Congress (APC) the failure to immediately wade in and nip disagreements among its Senators-elect in the bud as well as vested interests of key leaders of the party had nurtured the crisis to the level where no respite seems to be in sight.
The election of its candidates for the positions of senate President and House of Representatives Speaker last Saturday only fuelled the tension as large chunk of stakeholders boycotted the primary election that was conducted to that effect The position of a section of the APC leadership on the procedures for anointing the party’s candidate did not help the party.
Last Saturday’s election of Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as APC candidates for Senate President and Speaker only polarized the party further.
That situation made it difficult for the APC to achieve any harmonized position even on the eve of the inauguration of the National Assembly.
The 11th hour joker pulled by the APC Senators pushing the election of Lawan as the Senate President was a very dangerous strategy, which collapsed before it could be useful. As early as 7am on Tuesday, Security men had taken over the National Assembly preventing people from gaining entry.
Suddenly messages of propaganda went round that the inauguration of the National Assembly had been put off to allow President Muhammadu Buhari meet all APC National Assembly members with a view to resolving the differences among them.
But it was gathered that all that was meant to create confusion that could halt the election and get it postponed to allow the pro-Lawan Senators in the APC re-strategize.
Unknown to them, the proclamation sent to the Clerk by the President last week was very categorical on the fact that the two chambers of the Assembly must be inaugurated not later than 10 am on Tuesday. Senators supporting Saraki from the two parties suspected deceit and moved swiftly to clarify official positions with the management of the National Assembly, after which they promptly gathered at the red chamber waiting for the Clerk of the National Assembly to come in.
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2 Comments
As for the House of Rep – it could be said that democracy was in action, as all members were present.
As for the senate, there was treachery involved. 50 members – all APC were absent, led to believe there was a meeting that involved Saraki and the President to discuss APC approach to how they would conduct themselves; Even as Saraki had concluded plans with PDP overnight for how things would go the PDP-way. people have called it politics, I call it treachery and deceptions. What in Nigerian speak is what we call “Jamba”. Saraki Mesu Jamba. He sold out APC’s majority to PDP. By not waiting for the 50 members of APC to be present and his nocturnal planning with PDP to sell the mandate of his party, he committed the party equivalence of treason. He may well have emerged as Senate President with all APC members present, however it is obvious that his deputy would have been APC man and I hear Senate Mark is now majority leader – which actually ridicules the whole charade, how can he be the leader of the majority (APC has 59 members) and he is member of PDP with 49 members?
“When it is said to them do not spread mischief in the land, nay they say we are only peace makers. When they meet members of the party of those who do good, they say we are with you and when they meet fellow evildoers they say, don’t mind the fools we are definitely with you.”. The case of Saraki Jnr. reminds me of a story of old – A pious man was riding his horse, as he passes the house of God he decided to go in to offer some voluntary prayers. So he alighted from his horse, tied it down and gave his fine leather horse whip (those were good possessions of yore) to a boy he saw there to hold for him based on agreement. He came out and the boy and the horse whip were gone – so he called on someone else and gave him two silver coins and said to him go to the market, you’d see one boy who is selling a horse whip, buy it for 2 silver coins and bring it back to me. When the good samaritan returned with the horse whip, he told him the story of what just happened and concluded, God has meant that he will have 2 silver coins today. I was going to tip him 2 silver coins, if he had been truthful that would have been praiseworthy and he would have earned good for himself. He still got his 2 silver coins and now incurred the sin of stealing and it’s damnations.
There is enough lesson in this story for Senators Saraki, Ikweremadu, David Mark and all Senators, as well as President Buhari, APC, PDP and All Nigerians. What is your take on the lessons that can be deduced from this story, for all parties involved (in the disenfranchisement of majority of APC senators by a PDP-plot and it’s members to elect Saraki as Senate President and a PDP person as his deputy)?
I’d tell you what I think APC should do based on the above story- Reverse the coup at the senate. This may be how, for being involved in the coup to give the majority mandate to PDP at the senate, which is the party-equivalent of treason, all APC-senators involved should be suspended, INEC petitioned for poll fraud (since they were not senators yet, bu senators-elect on the platform of APC) and other candidates fielded to represent their constituencies. If they like, let them go and contest as PDP and then we’d see who wins and returns to the senate as PDP.
Over to you – what do you think the major actors and stakeholders mentioned above should do?
PDP Rigged the election of Saraki..It was selection and the clerk has some explaining to do…, 51 APC Senator-elect were absent, as well as, at least one PDP-Senator elect ( I imagine there are more than one …see the clip) were also absent. See the clip and think for yourself what just happened at the senate, copy the following url onto your browser and take a listen to Ben Bruce https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZrGDULpEZQ&feature=youtu.be
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