APC Senators tackle Saraki

The rumbles from Tuesday’s election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President continued, yesterday, with opponents and supporters of the nation’s new number three man stalking one another in furtherance of upturning or sustaining the new order.

Senator Bukola Saraki was nevertheless conciliatory towards his antagonists in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as he dismissed insinuations of his imminent defection from the party.

His insistence nonetheless, the bad blood flowing from Saraki’s upset of the APC’s official nominee for Senate President flowed into the Senate session, yesterday, as the different camps in the party squabbled over the legitimacy of the inauguration. Besides, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday, publicly snubbed a handshake from the Senate President at the swearing-in of 28 senators who missed the oath-taking on Tuesday.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in its own intervention, chided the APC over its threat of sanctions on the new National Assembly leadership, saying the ruling party had proved to all that it was not prepared for governance.

Threats, as Saraki takes charge

Meanwhile, associates of Senator Bukola Saraki were, yesterday, trying to explain circumstances under which Senator Ike Ekweremadu emerged Deputy Senate President over the camp’s earlier choice, Senator Ali Ndume. This was upon mutual allegations of culpability between them and the camp of Senator Ahmad Lawan, the official APC candidate for Senate President, over the party’s loss of the office of Deputy Senate President to the PDP.

The threat against Senator Saraki’s seat was made by supporters of Senator Lawan, who spoke under the aegis of the Unity Forum. The group vowed to seek redress in court as it alleged that the inauguration did not follow constitutional provisions.

At yesterday’s session, the first time he took full charge of the Senate, Senator Saraki commenced with the administration of the oath on his rival, Senator Lawan and 27 other APC senators absent at the formal inauguration of the 8th Senate on Tuesday.