Progressives Congress (APC) is scheming to take over the two chambers of the National Assembly without altering its leadership structure.
This is even as the Peoples Democratic Party is pushing to truncate the opposition’s grab of the legislative chambers with a five-point strategy.
The legislative arithmetic in the House of Representatives is now in favour of the APC, while similar scenario is prevailing in the Senate.
The lawmakers have, however, become so mixed that a change in leadership is reportedly not on the table.
Checks showed that in the House of Representatives, the APC has quietly taken over with some PDP lawmakers known to be APC in PDP colours.
Reports further indicated that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, who attended the PDP caucus meeting on Wednesday night, is sympathetic to the APC and is, therefore, providing protection for defected lawmakers in exchange for retaining his leadership position.
If the opposition has effected smart take-over operation in the lower house, similar model is being applied to the Senate, where the defectors are reported to be holding the Senate President to his word of growing beyond sectional interest.
Findings showed that the APC is planning a defection that would tilt the balance of numbers in favour of the opposition, while not making attempt to remove Senator David Mark or change the chamber’s subsisting leadership structure.
The APC is pushing Senator Mark into the same position as Speaker Tambuwal even though it is not clear whether the Senate President will play the game his counterpart in the lower house is playing.
The PDP is, however, not watching idly as the APC executes its take-over bid. The ruling party, after marathon night meetings involving its governors and party leaders alongside the House caucus of the party, has fashioned out five strategies to tackle the APC.
According to insiders, the first strategy is to mount vigorous legal challenges against defectors, a reason said to be behind the new cases just instituted by the party. The party hopes to get some seats declared vacant to stem any further defection.
The direct involvement of President Goodluck Jonathan through calls to lawmakers is reported to have been executed on the advice of a top lawmaker. This was said to be behind the reduction to 37 the number of defectors in the lower house. Similar personal presidential calls to senators are said to be ongoing
It was further learnt that the third approach is fast-tracking of reconciliation which saw the governors dropping their bid to push out Bamanga Tukur out of the PDP chairmanship.
Offer of automatic ticket is also included as this particularly formed a key agreement at the Wednesday night meeting. The party is reported to have agreed to give re-election tickets to the lawmakers who agree to stay within the party.
The last strategy is said to be pressure on Senator Mark not to play a Tambuwal in the upper chamber. Sources at the Wednesday meeting confirmed that a team is to meet the Senate President to get him to stand by the party’s plan to declare vacant, the seat of defectors
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The president and babagan tukur dnt no wot dey're doing. These people have ruined PDP and they shld not think of declaring their seats vacant cuz we have some people from oda parties dat defected to PDP in the past especially from old AD so mr president shld drop the idea. I said it some years Back dat jonathan will finish dis country, he is not a good leader and moreover jonathan shld not lead us into anoda civil war. Mr president u're a failure, ur inability and foolishness to understand nigeria polity. Jonathan and tukur shld stop threatening dose dat defected to APC, try to make freinds instead of enemies, stop listening dose sycophants, dose useless elements dat sorrunded u. ONE THING IS CERTAIN, U WILL LOSE 2014 ELECTION. Jonathan create employment, fight corruption and insecurity, nigerians are tired of u and PDP u have nothing to offer nigeria.
ReplyDeleteWho is this he goat or she goat. Say something people can read and understand instead of calling someone a child. If u dnt have any contribution keep quiet or shut ur stinkin mouth. PDP is died patapata. Fool can u tell us jona's achievement since he took ova d leadership of PDP and ruling d country.
DeleteThe struggle to take over poverty in the land can not afford to wait till 2015
ReplyDeleteSame old pple but who ar determined 2 return power 2 d north.
ReplyDeleteI wipe 4 nigeria becos men of character (men lik Donard duke, Pat Utomi, Marwa or what's his name) sits idly y fools, vampires and weak men engage demsevs in a fight 2 hold on 2 power.
None of dem (GEJ, Buhari, Tinubu, OBJ, Atiku etc) ar leaders, dey ar al failures. Mitchewwww!