By Leke Adeseri, South West Regional Editor
LAGOS— CRISIS brewed in the Senate, last night, following the resolution of former Governors to enthrone a political rival of the Senate President, Senator George Akume as the minority leader.
Akume was adopted by leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, despite an earlier straw poll by Senators-elect in the minority that Senator Ganiyu Solomon, ACN, Lagos West should be adopted as Senate Minority Leader.
Senator Solomon has now been slated for the position of Senate Minority Whip while the CPC is to produce the deputy minority leader and the ANPP is to produce the deputy minority whip.
Senator Solomon’s adoption as minority leader was reversed after a meeting, weekend, in Lagos House, Abuja where party grandees, mostly former governors were said to have influenced the choice of Senator Akume as the minority leader.
Akume is yet to be presented for adoption to the Senate and it was learnt, yesterday, that the minority caucus is to present him when the Senate resumes.
However, the prospects of his being adopted raised concern among senators, especially in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who are promising to foist a leader on the minority parties in the same manner the minority parties collaborated to sabotage the PDP’s choice of Rep. Mulikat Akande-Adeola as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Opponents of Akume’s candidacy
Besides, opponents of the Akume candidacy were pointing at the fact that he is from Benue State like the Senate President.
Those in support of Akume among the class of former governors belonging to the party were pointing at the need of broadening the party base ahead of the 2015 election with the enthronement of a non Yoruba as the party’s highest ranking personality at the national level.
Akume’s choice is, however, facing serious challenges from allies of Senator Mark. Mark and Akume who was formerly in the PDP fought a bruising campaign for the Senate presidency in 2007 which Mark won after a last minute rally of support.
The ACN presently has 18 senators, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP each has seven senators, Labour has four senators and the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP has one senator.
The PDP, however, has the majority with 71 senators.
A senator told Vanguard, yesterday: “What the ACN did to the PDP by helping them to fuel a rebellion in the House of Representatives is likely to play out in the Senate as the PDP seeks its own pound of flesh by foisting a leadership on the minority parties.”
A ranking senator in the immediate past Senate and a known associate of Senator Mark refused to be drawn into the controversy saying that the Senate would deal with the issue when it comes.
He said: “They have not come but when we get to the bridge we will cross it.”
Another associate of Senator Mark was more forthright by affirming that the proposal would be decided on a vote an unusual procedure in the adoption of minority leaders. By Senate tradition the Senate is expected to receive the proposal of the minority caucus without debate.
Mark’s associate who said there would be no way that Akume could sit on the leadership, stressed:. “This matter will be decided on the floor and a vote will decide it.”
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Crisis brews in Senate over Akume