ALL Progressives Congress (APC) senators have split into two groups with one agreeing to elect Senator Ahmed Lawan of Yobe North as the next senate president and Senator George Akume of Benue North West as his deputy while the other opted for Senator Bukola Saraki. 

Since the March 28 elections made the APC majority party in the National Assembly, the party has been grappling with who to elect as the leaders of the legislature. Under Nigeria's delicate zoning arrangement, each of the nation's six geo-political zones must get at least one of the nation's top six slots. 

With the president and his vice coming from the northwest and southwest respectively, the positions of senate president, deputy senate president, speaker and deputy speaker are being fought over by the remaining four zones. However, matters have been complicated by the fact that the southeast, which was originally zoned the senate president refused to elect any APC senator. 

Over the last three weeks, the APC has been meeting to try and resolve the matter and after a two-day retreat in Abuja, some senators-elect decided to zone the senate presidency to the northeast and its deputy to the north central geo-political zones. Senator Barnabas Ge‎made, representing Benue North East, said that the duo had been adopted as consensus candidates. 

Senator Gemade added: “We, the Senate Unity Forum comprising senators-elect from various zones of Nigeria, have met, held extensive discussions and resolved to support Senator Ahmed Lawan as senate president and Senator George Akume as deputy senate president of the eighth senate. Kindly take this to be our collective decision in the best interest of our party, the APC and our dear nation, Nigeria.” 

However, Senator Bukola Saraki, from Kwara Central, has denied that a consensus candidate has been picked by the party. After the retreat, it appears that two camps emerged, with one refusing to accept the agreement on who should be elected. 

Originally, the APC had planned to conduct a primary election among its 59 senators to resolve the matter but the Senate Unity Forum, walked out of the event and declared that they had resolved to support the joint ticket of Senators Lawan and Akume. An hour later, no fewer than 24 senators-elect, calling themselves The Like Minds, filed out of the retreat and announced that 35 members of the group had adopted Senator Saraki as their next senate president. 

Senator Dino Melaye, from Kogi West, representing ther group, added: “Furthermore, the leadership of National Assembly is about the senator that has the wherewithal to stabilise the legislative institution, working with the executive and judicial arm of government to be effective and perform to their optimal capacity. In addition, we are aware of the fact that all senators from the north central zone have taken a firm position that they are only interested in the office of the senate president which has been earlier zoned by the national working committee of our party to the zone. 

“We are also aware that north central senators have resolved to abide by the resolution of the zone on a single candidate and anything short of this is an attempt to jeopardise the collective interest of the zone. We have also resolved that the office of the deputy senate president be zoned to the north east.” 

Already, the APC Youth Forum has said it will not support the election of Senator Lawan who is from the northeast because the national working committee of the party zoned the senate presidency to the north central zone where Senator Bukola Saraki comes from. According to its public relations officer Olu Onemola, the APC Youth Forum also frowned on the news of Senator Akume stepping down  for Senator Lawan, saying that it was an attempt to scuttle the primary after seeing that Senator Saraki had a large lead over his rivals. 

If no consensus is reached by the party, there will be an open contest upon the inauguration of the senate in the first week of June. To become senate president, Senators Saraki and Lawan need a minimum of 55 votes to win, which is a simple majority of the 109 elected senators.