There are strong indications over the weekend that the strategists of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu are showing strong interest in who becomes the next President of the Senate due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the various petitions challenging Tinubu’s victory at the election tribunal, THISDAY has learnt.
Jostling for the seat is a former Senate Minority Leader and ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio; former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and the outgoing Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Dave Umahi who have all remained the strong contenders for the Senate Presidency.
Politics Nigeria gathered that as Oshiomhole and Umahi insist on running, there are moves to amend the Senate Rules to allow the first-term senators to run for the principal positions to pave the way for the former governor of Edo State, who is said to be Tinubu’s favourite.
Oshiomhole and Umahi are going to the Senate for their first term.
Reports have it that while the APC has settled for the South-south to produce the Senate President and the North-west to produce the deputy, the Senate Rules prohibit the emergence of a first-term senator.
Under the current Senate Rules, they are not qualified to run, as only a ranking senator is qualified to hold a principal position.
According to a privy source on the ongoing permutations, Oshiomhole has been cleared to contest for the seat, while the APC governors would likely throw their weight behind Umahi.
It was gathered that the fear of the possible outcome of the petitions filed against Tinubu’s victory in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) prompted the President-elect and his allies to search for a candidate they could trust.
Politics Nigeria understands that Tinubu’s camp is rooting for a trusted ally to become the Senate President so that in the event of a nullification of the February 25 presidential election, their ally will hold forth as the acting President for a period of 90 days.
According to a source:
“There are fears that the tribunal might annul the election. If the tribunal annuls the election, they will need a strong Senate President, who will hold forth for 90 days,” one of the sources told THISDAY.
