10th NASS: North West’s Plot To Hijack Senate Presidency Fails As Akpabio Edges Closer

Call it true friendship or political loyalty, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has broken ranks with governors from the North, who are battling President-elect, Bola Tinubu, for the position of the Senate president for the 10th Assembly.

The governors have been in high hopes that electing a Senate president from the Northwest would checkmate Tinubu during his presidency and would not allow him to have it his own way.

But Ganduje, who Tinubu has always praised for his “friendship” and “trust” has toed that predictable line as he has pulled out of the plot.

Instead, he’s again leading the line to see through Tinubu’s aspiration of having a strong hand from the South as his “working partner,” for the post of the Senate president, THE WHISTLER was told.

This has effectively put former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, on the driving seat to emerge the number three citizen of Nigeria come first week of June.

Akpabio’s political sagacity and an “unyielding” and “uncowering” posture to deal with both internal and external pressure to dissociate himself from the president has endeared him to Tinubu, who feels he has found a working ally to steer the ship of the country.

As for Ganduje who’s trumpeting Tinubu’s behind-the-scenes arrangement, “loyalty comes first in a country that, that is rarely seen,” politics-wise, a member of his camp who revealed the raging battle explained to this paper.

It was gathered that governors from the North had settled for two senators-elect from the Northwest zone in order to settle for a consensus candidate.

The northern governors also informed the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Adamu, of their position even as Tinubu was out of the country.

According to a source, Adamu’s seeming abdication of responsibility “for the president-elect to decide” after their National Working Committee meeting was the competing interests, one of which was the position of the Northern APC governors.

It was revealed that he found himself in an uncharted territory and decided to “play a smart one by insisting Tinubu has a crucial say on who emerges Senate President.”

Ganduje, having fully been informed, reportedly splits from the plot after meeting the President-elect a few days after his return from his foreign trip.

The Kano governor quickly began to parrot Tinubu’s preferred choice beginning in Calabar, Cross River State, what was secretly agreed, that, Akpabio is the next Senate President of Nigeria.

Ganduje said, “The senate president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will come from the south-south and it is no other person than the former governor of Akwa Ibom.

“The uncommon governor, the uncommon minister who is going to be the uncommon president of the senate. So we have resolved that.

“I am giving you assurance, we are waiting for the D-Day that he will be the senate president of Nigeria,” the governor said in a meeting with Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, that was also attended by Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari

Ayade on his part said, “I want to thank you so much for zoning the senate president to the south-south and to our brother from a neighbouring state who is also part of Cross River state,” the governor said.

“We want to thank you for this great opportunity because our dream of a Bakassi seaport is becoming very real.”

Earlier in the past week, former Senator representing Kaduna Central in the 8th Assembly, Shehu Sani, had tweeted: “The Northerners who supported Asiwaju to the throne are now saying they want the Senate Presidency in order to Checkmate him. It’s a good political strategy.

“But it’s like being in love and also being in doubt & living in fear.True love (is) supposed to be blind,” Sani had said.

Sani did not respond to an inquiry when contacted.

However, this medium gathered that the number of senators in support of Akpabio has risen to 65 to mean all elected senators on the platform of the party.

But an aide to Adams Oshiomhole, who’s also eying the position denied that the number is that high.

Attempts to speak with Akpabio failed but an aide confirmed to this medium that, “It’s a done deal. The Uncommon Senator is the next Senate President. I can confirm to you that we have up to 70 senators-elect which cut across all political parties.”

A Senator-elect on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from the Southsouth however deferred saying “while it’s an internal affairs of the APC, no opposition senator-elect has stuck his neck out in support of Akpabio.

“I can tell you the opposition is one except for those who you already know but that I won’t mention. You know the splinter group right from the post presidential primary to the campaign and the conduct of the election.”

The senator-elect was referring to the senators elected from the states controlled by the G-5, which are Rivers, Oyo, Benue, Abia and Enugu.

Our correspondent confirmed that only Rivers State successfully produced three senators on the platform of the PDP among the G-5 states. The three senators have indicated their support for the APC.

An aide to the Rivers State governor confirmed under condition of anonymity that the three senators-elect including the “deputy governor is fully in support of Akpabio.

“The governor has anointed Akpabio and successfully organised the meeting in the State during the president-elect’s visit; that’s how important Governor Wike is now, so none of them has a choice.

“Akpabio is even a good choice,” she said.