Saraki holds meeting with angry Senators

Firstclass newsline gathered that senate President Bukola Saraki has
started reaching out to the All Peoples Congress leadership and
colleagues opposed to his emergence as the head of the National
Assembly.
A senator loyal to him, Rafiu Ibrahim, made this known in Abuja on
Sunday just as firstclass newsline learnt that the APC leadership
decided to soft-pedal on its initial opposition to the outcomes of the
National Assembly leadership elections in order to stave off
rebellion by its lawmakers.
Ibrahim said, "We are currently meeting with our colleagues in the
Senate. Apart from the fact that the Senate President has been meeting
with those who are aggrieved , we, members of the Like Minds Senators
are also engaging them on one-on-one basis.
"We are also meeting with our party leadership and I think the peace
moves are achieving good result. It is in the interest of everybody
that we have a united Senate."
Some members of the Senate Unity Forum who are loyalists of Senator
Lawan, also confirmed that Saraki and some of his supporters were
making overtures to them.
The senators, who spoke with a source on condition of anonymity
because their leaders had barred them from granting interviews on the
issue were, however, silent on whether the Saraki group offered them
anything in return for their support.
A ranking senator from one of the South-West states said Saraki
personally discussed with him on the matter.
He said, "It is true that the Like Minds Senators have been talking
with us to support the leadership of Saraki but we told them that we
are not having any personal issues with the Senate president and his
deputy, Ekweremadu.
"We are upholding the sanctity of our political party and its
leadership. We have told them our conditions for mutual relationship
and cooperation. It is left for them to take appropriate actions."
Another senator from the South-West also explained that the SUF
members would meet this week to review the reply of their party's
leadership to their conditions.
The group had through its spokesperson, Senator Kabiru Marafa, said it
was demanding the immediate resignation of Ekweremadu and the
investigation of the Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa,
for his role in the June 9 Senate inauguration.
Firstclass newsline gathered in Abuja on Sunday that the APC leaders
opted to sheathe their sword after the Presidency reportedly
intervened in the matter.
The APC had in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai
Mohammed, on Tuesday described the victory of Saraki and Yakubu
Dogara as "unacceptable."
Saraki, a former Kwara State governor, beat APC choice, Ahmed Lawan,
to clinch the post while Dogara defeated Femi Gbajabiamila.
Describing Saraki and Dogara's decisions to defy its directive and
vie for the posts as an act of "monumental indiscipline and betrayal,"
the party vowed to sanction them in accordance with the provisions of
its constitution.
However, after a series of consultations, the National Chairman of the
party, John Odigie-Oyegun, on Friday announced that they were
ready to work with Saraki and Dogara.
A prominent member of the APC,who pleaded for anonymity, explained to
a source that what Odigie-Oyegun said represented the position of the
party's National Working Committee.
He added that the APC was aware that if it kept to its hard line on
the matter, the National Assembly members who backed Saraki and Dogara
might rebel against it (APC).
The party member said, "We have to live with the reality that Saraki
and Dogara are the new leaders of the National Assembly. We don't want
a rebellion from our Senators and House members.
"However, those who defied us and did what they did will face a panel
which will give them fair hearing before a disciplinary action."
Asked what the disciplinary action would be, he replied, "Even a
warning is a form of sanction.
"We have no intention to open ourselves up to what the Peoples
Democratic Party did to itself in the case of (Aminu)Tambuwal .
"When he (Tambuwal) emerged against their (PDP) will, instead of
finding a way to manage it, they alienated him until he left them with
a lot of his colleagues to join us (APC). We will not allow this to
happen to us."
The party source also revealed that as part of efforts to further
douse tension, Saraki and Dogara would be prevailed upon not to
sideline their defeated colleagues.
Towards this end, they are expected to concede the chairmanship of
some of choice committees in both the Senate and the House to members
of the other camp.
When asked if indeed Saraki had waved the Olive branch before the
party's leadership and if indeed it had accepted to work with
Saraki and Dogara, the APC spokesman, referred him to
Odigie-Oyegun.
But calls to the mobile telephone number of Odigie-Oyegun were neither
picked nor returned.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the leadership of the APC had taken
a position that the remaining seats in the House of Representatives
like the Majority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Leader and Deputy Whip,
were party seats.
Another top APC member said, "The party has come into these positions
because they are party seats and the party reserves the power to share
it to the zones.
"What we hear is that, to calm nerves, Femi Gbajabiamila(the defeated
APC choice candidate for the House speakership) will be the majority
leader, while a member from Kano State, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, will
be his deputy.
"Monguno will likely be the chief whip while Pally Iriase from Edo
State, will deputise for him."
But a former House spokesman and influential member of the 8th
Assembly, Zakari Mohammed, said that replacing an elected presiding
officer with another person was not possible.
Mohammed noted that it was likely that people were making speculations
in view of the outcomes of the elections.
But he parried a question on what role the House or the party would
assign to Gbajabiamila.
"I don't know, I can't comment on that one," he said.
Firstclassnewsline.net