PDP rejigs Senate’s minority positions, warns of plot to implicate Ishaku

• Deploys Saraki to broker peace in Edo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has replaced Senator Clifford Odia (PDP, Edo Central) with Senator Sahabi Yau (PDP, Zamfara North) as Deputy Minority Whip following its resolve to embark on a major reshuffle of its leadership in the Senate.

It explained that the decision of its National Working Committee (NWC) to replace Odia with Yau was informed by the need to reflect national character and spread in the minority positions of the National Assembly.

“Accordingly, the party has resolved to appeal to Odia to give up the position to the North West Zone for national interest. This is because the South-South zone has two positions of the eight positions, while the Northwest zone was completely shut out,” a party source said.

The Guardian also learnt that the party has appealed to immediate past Senate President Bukola Saraki to spearhead effort to soothe disgruntled members in Edo, Ordia’s home state.

Yau’s choice was also partly due to the choice of Kingsley Chinda (Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State) as Minority Leader, House of Representatives.

There are four minority positions each in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The decision would be communicated to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who would formally announce same to all senators upon resumption on July 2, 2019.

Similarly, House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, would announce the minority positions when it resumes same date.

The Senate PDP caucus had at a meeting with the NWC resolved to pick Enyinnaya Abaribe as Minority Leader, while Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South Senatorial District) was nominated as Deputy Minority Leader, just as Philip Aduda (Federal Capital Territory) was tipped for Minority Whip.

Meanwhile, the PDP has alleged that the attack on the Abuja residence of Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, was aimed at planting incriminating objects in the building to implicate him.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, lamented Federal Government’s poor handling of the matter, adding that such signals confirmed that there were other sinister motives behind the attack.

“Nigerians can recall that the attack on June 11, 2019 was allegedly led by DSP Edwin Oruakpa. The PDP charged the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to expose the forces behind the invasion and their intentions, as well as publicly bring the culprits to book,” he said.