Efforts made yesterday by the 59 senators of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Senate to come together after weeks of division over the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the 8th Senate, ended in fiasco with senators physically assaulting one another.
The APC senators had, based on announcement made by Saraki during plenary, assembled at Room 301 of the Senate new wing for a meeting with him, which however, resulted into agitated commotion between the pro and anti-Saraki senators when the issue of the remaining leadership positions in the Senate meant for the party was raised.
Disagreement between the two camps, which led to verbal outbursts and exchange of blows between senators across the divide, was sparked off when the senators belonging to the ‘Like Minds’ and ‘Unity Forum’ groups failed to reach a middle ground on the procedure for the emergence of candidates for the various leadership positions.
While the Saraki-led Like Minds senators at the meeting insisted that the candidates for the various positions be zoned and the candidates produced at the caucus level, the Ahmad Lawan group, under the aegis of Unity Forum, believed otherwise.
On the contrary, the Unity Forum senators insisted that all vacant positions be filled by the national leadership of the party.
But the Like Minds senators came up with a zoning formula that gave the position of Majority Leader to the North East; Deputy Majority Leader, North West; Chief Whip, South West; and Deputy Whip, South-South respectively.
According to one of the lawmakers who attended the APC senators meeting, yesterday, Suleiman Hunkuyi (APC, Kaduna North), the problem was caused by attempts by the Saraki-led group to impose its candidates on the party.
Midway into the meeting, which was held in closed door, an angry Hunkuyi stormed out of the venue and threw the doors open, asking newsmen around in to witness the drama.
With the atmosphere already charged, trouble began when Senator Tayo Alsoadura (APC Ondo Central), a member of the Like Minds senators differed over the choice of Senator Sola Adeyeye (APC Osun Central) as Chief Whip.
The lawmaker insisted that Senator Robert Borroffice (APC, Ondo North) was a better candidate to Adeyeye, given his experience as a ranking senator.
But one of the Unity Forum senators, Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central), a younger lawmaker aged 54 who took offence with Senator Alasoadura observation, launched an unexpected attack on the latter, who staggered backwards and almost fell to the ground.
Senators at this point rushed to the rescue of the 65-year-old Alasoadura by forming a thick wall to prevent him from hitting the ground dangerously.
Earlier, before the meeting went violent, the convener, Bukola Saraki, had pleaded with the APC senators to forget the past by rallying round his leadership of the Senate and by extension the 8th National Assembly.
He said though a lot has been happening within and outside the political sphere of the party in the last few weeks, but as members of the same house, there was the need for them to come together for the benefit of the party and Nigeria.
“Distinguished colleagues, I have convened this meeting for obvious reason, among other things, the need to come together, unite with each other and embrace one another on the platform of love, brotherly lines, with the belief that we would all do the needful and put our differences behind us and forge ahead.
“As we go into this meeting, let us discuss, interact and bear our minds out with the belief that there are solutions to all issues. Every thought and idea shall be welcome and every opinion and suggestion will be considered because this is a family affair,” he said.
But the family affair later went awry with no agreement between the two factions on the candidates for the four principal positions even as the Like Minds group had already pencilled down Senators Ali Ndume (APC Borno South) for the position of Senate Leader, Sani Yerima (APC Zamfara West) for Deputy Leadership position, Shola Adeyeye ( Osun Central) as Chief Whip and Francis Alimikhena ( Edo North) as Deputy Chief Whip.
--NewsWatch Times
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