The choice of Nigeria’s next Senate president may be creating a rift in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a meeting scheduled for today between members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the party’s newly elected legislators was postponed till Saturday.
The meeting was scheduled to hold Thursday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
But as journalists gathered at the centre, an official said the meeting has been rescheduled to the 6th of June at the same venue.
The reason for the postponement could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report but multiple sources argue that the change in date is to enable the Senator Ahmed Lawan group rally for more supports against Bukola Saraki, who has been a main contender.
But reports said the party has been struggling to forge a united front towards the emergence of the next set of leaders for the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In a meeting a day ago with members of the party’s NWC, President Muhammad Buhari had signaled his preference for Senator Ahmed Lawan.
Sources at the meeting disclosed that Mr. Buhari said he was tipping Senator Lawan because of his experience and integrity. Mr. Lawan hails from Nigeria’s violence-ravaged northeast zone.
His rival is former Governor Bukola Saraki. President Buhari had asked party leaders to present one candidate as a way of projecting a united front.
Also the reports about a surprise being planned by the Peoples Democratic Party led to the confusion ongoing in the party, another member of the ruling APC tells NewsWireNGR. “There’s so much confusion around and we are avoiding to be surprised especially inline with what happened with the Tambuwal Vs Jonathan’s administration”.
