Senate Presidency: ‘Akpabio Trapped Between Tinubu, Adamu’s Cold War’

There might be some setbacks in the camp of the consensus candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the seat of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly, Godswill Akpabio.

This might be due to the alleged silent war ongoing between President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, Naija News learnt.

Strong indications are that Adamu is not concerned or bothered about the opposition faced by Akpabio fro other aspirants of the party who have refused to step down for party supremacy to prevail.

This platform gathered that both the President and Adamu have not held any one-on-one meetings after his inauguration, and speculations are that this cold war between the two elephants can affect Akpabio’s emergence.

According to The Whistler,  it was this alleged cold war between the two that made Adamu reluctant to call and instil discipline where all candidates within the party opposing the president’s choice stepped down.

Also, it was learnt that at the weekend Akpabio made efforts to meet with Adamu to seek his support by devising means for opposing candidates to step down, but it was to no avail.

Speculation within the APC is that Adamu is less concerned about who emerges as the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives because they are not his choice for those principal positions.

It would be recalled that the North West Zonal Chairman of the APC, Salihu Moh. Lukman had earlier accused Adamu of working against the party’s zoning arrangement.

He alleged that despite the zoning arrangement for the principal offices of the 10th Assembly, which Adamu was duty-bound to support, “he is acting as a factional leader opposing the decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC.)”

Lukman had said “Instead of working for the success of the decision of the NWC through activating meetings of higher organs of the party to confer more legitimacy to the decision of the NWC, he seems to be more interested in ensuring that the 2015 model of rebellious leadership emerges in the 10th National Assembly.”

To make matters worse, sources within the party have revealed that members of the NWC  are also busy lobbying for ministerial appointments, therefore they are less bothered about who emerges as what.

On Sunday, it was gathered there were concerted efforts to nullify the strongest candidate opposing Akpabio, the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul-Aziz Yari, by co-opting his strongest ally, Orji Uzor Kalu, the immediate Chief Whip of the Senate.

A member of Murkta Betara camp, who said he joined the APC during its formative years noted told The Whistler that  “The National Working Committee of the APC is not bothered because those announced as the choices of the party were those selected by the president,” adding that, “the party could have shown more interest if it “had a say” in the matter.

However, a member of the Akpabio camp said efforts are still on to ensure the party’s National Chairman sees “the project as his and the party’s rather than the president’s, he has to see it that way,” the source said.