By Abdulateef Taiwo
Senator Godswill Akpabio Akpabio ‘s ambition to preside over the 10th Assembly faces severe threat , just as Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Osita Izunaso have refused to step down maintaining their ambition to deputize Senator Abubakar Yari as the Senate President.
Signs that the Senators in the upper Chamber might not support Senator Godswill Akpabio to clinch the seat started emerging on Saturday, when the fire work by the Stability group to garner support for Akpabio, at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja recorded abysmal attendance by both returning and Senators elects who were expected at the event.
Earlier on Friday the Senate had shifted it’s valedictory session to Saturday, for a meeting with President Tinubu.
The meeting with the president was to futher reinstate the earlier position of the All Progressive Congress (APC)’ which nominated Senator Godswill, Jubrin Barau for the office of the president of the Senate and Deputy Senate president respectively.
The party also nominated Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Hon. Benjamin Kalu, for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House, respectively.
The All Progressive Congress ( APC)’ s positions had drawn the ire of the lawmakers in both Chambers and the public who felt the Party is against the rules of the National Assembly in the elections of it’s leadership.
In the Senate a group led by the outgoing President of the senate, Ahmed Lawn had thrown it’s weight behind Senator Yari , threatening to repeat the 2015 election in the Chamber which produce Senator Abubakar Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, against the preferred Candidate Lawn Ahmed.
In the House a splinter group also emerged led by deputy Speaker , Hon Wase and Betara .
The Wase group known as the G6 , comprised of all the Speakership aspirants and have been working with the majority minority Members elect to thwart the position of the party which nominated Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu.
At the meeting with President Tinubu on Friday, Wase, Gadi and other members of the G6 were conspicuously absence.
On Saturday at Transcorp apart from Senator Adams Oshomole, Solomon Adeola, Opeyemi Bamidele, Senator Ibrahim Giedam, who are leading the campaign for Akpabio, prominent Senators working with Ahmed lawn shunned the meeting.
The meeting which was meant to endorse Akpabio by the Lawmakers after it’s Saturday meeting with President Tinubu failed woefully as Reporters invited for the briefing waited for hours , left the venue without any brief from the stability Group who had invited the media for the endorsement.
While the confusion at the Transcorp Hotel venue of the stability Group meeting lasted, the group working for Abubakar Yari, had a hectic time in their meeting some where in Abuja, trying to convince Orji and Izunaso to step down to enable them pick a deputy for Yari.
Sources at the meeting who does not want his name mentioned told our Correspondent that ” until early morning of Sunday, both Kalu and Izunaso had stick to their guns, non of them is ready to step down ”
Senator Godswill, according to a source at the meeting at the Transcorp , has lost support of the majority lawmakers for various reasons which verge on his previous outbursts and arrogance as Minister of Niger’Delta.
