From Victor Osula, Abuja
Indications have emerged that President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan is the eye of another storm shortly after missing out on his return ticket to the represent Yobe North at National Assembly courtesy of winner Bashir Machina’s refusal to step down for him.
This time around the number three man in the country is sitting over defection letters of 12 All Progressives Congress, APC, senators to avoid impeachment
Parliamentary sources say the Senator Lawan is sitting over the defection letters of at least 12 All Progressives Congress senators in order to block any impeachment threat against his presidency. The reason is that if allowed to happen, the defection would reduce the strength of the governing party considerably and thereby threaten his office through lack dominance.
The party’s strength currently stands at 62 in the Red Chamber as against that of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party at 41. chamber. Others with share in numbers that got from defecting APC Senators are the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Which has two. The Young Progressives Party, YPP, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and Labour Party, LP, having one each. If matters come to a crunch in the chamber, these others may team up with the senators elected on the platform of the PDP, whose members on Wednesday gave President Muhammadu Buhari six weeks to address the worsened insecurity or risk impeachment.
So if the defection letters of the APC 12 Senators were to be read on the floor, the numerical strength of the ruling party will be reduced to 50 senators, which will eventually threaten Lawan’s seat as the Senate president.
Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, representing Bauchi North is one of those who recently submitted his defection letter Lawan.
Meanwhile, Lawan is compounding his problems by his establishment posture. At the stormy session on Wednesday when the minority senators issued the impeachment warning to the president, Lawan immediately responded that the president has done his best to address the security situation and thinks impeachment notice was stretching legislative oversight functions too far. But the opposition senators are determined and may explore crisis within the APC over defection to get the required number to, first remove the Senate president and second move against President Buhari.
A call to Senate media spokesperson, Bashir Ajibola was not answered, neither was the call returned.
