AS the National Assembly continues to wait patiently for the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to announce the zoning of political positions, a group known as The Like Minds with about 70 members has emerged to give backing to the aspirations of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ali Ndume.
The group headed by the radical Kogi State-born lawmaker and Senator-elect, Dino Melaye, cuts acros…s all the six geo-political zones, which includes about 27 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senators. The group, it was gathered, is working to ensure that no external influence or external political godfather hijacks the leadership of the Senate so that the leadership will be accountable to members and not individuals.
A source privy to the group disclosed that despite the alleged endorsement of a particular aspirant and his alleged sponsorship by the leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the numerical number of The Like Minds group continues to increase on daily basis. The source further said that the North-East, which was said to have endorsed the candidature of Senator Ahmad Lawan, has 15 Senators in The Like Minds camp and nine Senators out of 20 from the North West.
He also said 11 APC Senators out of 18 from the North-Central have identified with The Like Minds, while 11 out of 18 from the South-West have also given their backing to the Saraki/Ali Ndume camp. He further claimed that the recent media report that about 12 Senators from the South-West had endorsed Senator Lawan was not true, even as he claimed that some of the Senators from the zone are being outwitted to support somebody against their conscience. Besides, he claimed that “the APC leader, Asiwaju Tinubu controls only six Senators from the South-West and that there was no way the Senators from the zone should follow the same pattern.”
He, however, said that it was “the belief of The Like Minds that the decision on which zone produces the Senate President will be taken by the National leadership of the APC and that the group will only act in accordance with the decision of the party.” Another source within the ranks of The Like Minds said that the greatest mistake the Senate would make will be to elect a Senate President that will be taking orders and be reporting to somebody outside the Senate
