APC Picks Lawan, Gbajabiamila To Lead Senate, House …Saraki, Others Boycott Primaries

Ahead of tomorrow’s election of principal officers of the 8th National Assembly, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) and Senator George Akume (Benue North) have emerged the  sole candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the position of President and Deputy Senate President of the 8th Senate respectively.
This followed a primary election conducted by the National Working Committee of the APC at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Saturday.
National Secretary of the Party, Mala Buni, who served as returning officer announced that 33 Senators were accredited to vote after which Lawan got 32 votes and one vote was declared invalid.
Buni said, “By the powers conferred on me by the NWC of the APC as the Chief Returning Officer of this election after having certified that Dr. Ahmed Lawan has fulfilled all the requirements of the party, he is hereby nominated as the sole candidate of the party for the position of Senate President of the 8th Senate.”
A similar procedure was adopted in the election of Akume. Akume got 32 out of the 33 votes.
Lawan’s rival, Dr Bukola Saraki and his supporters boycotted the mock election even after signing an agreement earlier in the day with Lawan group to abide by the outcome of the election.
In his acceptance speech, Lawan said, while he was grateful for the confidence reposed in him by the party and his colleagues, he was saddened that his colleagues “in the other camp” did not participate in the process.
He pleaded with the NWC to assist him in winning over all other senators in the National Assembly because he would require their support not only to win on Tuesday but also to provide leadership at the legislative arm of the government
The two chambers of the eighth National Assembly will convene on Tuesday (tomorrow) to elect their principal officers.
Meanwhile, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos State) has emerged the APC sole candidate for the position of the House of Representatives Speaker.
He polled 154 votes to defeat Hon. Yakubu Dogara who scored three votes in the primaries conducted by the party’s NWC in Abuja, on Saturday.
Four votes were declared invalid by the APC National Vice-Chairman, North-East, Babachir Lawan, who served as the Returning Officer.
The APC has 213 out of the 360 members of the House of Representatives. Of the 213 APC members-elect, 161 participated in the party’s primaries that produced Gbajabiamila as the APC sole candidate.
Dogara and 18 of his supporters reportedly walked out of the venue when it became obvious that the party was going ahead with the primary election despite their protest against it.
Dogara’s group had argued that the election of the speaker of the House cannot be conducted outside the chamber of the House.