Lawan meets party leaders
By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
The Senate Caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denied any alleged plot to remove the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, from the seat or force him to join the party.
The APC senators, led by the new Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, declared this to newsmen yesterday at the party’s national secretariat after a meeting with the Chief John Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC).
The APC Senate Caucus, last week removed its leader, Ali Ndume, and subsequently announced Lawan as its new leader.
On the same day, the lawmaker representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Kabiru Marafa, reportedly urged the Deputy Senate President to defect to the APC or get impeached.
But when asked to respond to the report, the new Senate leader said he had no idea of such plot.
He said: “I don’t know about that. I have no idea, all l know is that my colleagues in the Senate APC Caucus held a meeting and decided that l should be made the Senate Leader and that happened Tuesday last week as you all know. We are looking forward to working together in a very brotherly and fraternal manner in the Senate indeed, with other senators from other political parties like the PDP and other parties. I don’t have any idea if anybody is trying to impeach someone in the Senate.”
Also, denying the report, Chief Whip, Senator Sola Adeyeye, said: “l am a member of the APC Caucus in the Senate; l have been a principal officer of the APC Caucus and l am aware of the effort of the party that led to the emergence of Senator Lawan. I have never at any meeting, private or otherwise, heard of what you have just said. It is in the realm of speculation, but speculation is not new to politics.”
Earlier, at the meeting with the party leaders, the APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, expressed regrets over how long it took the party to ensure its supremacy at the Senate.
He said: “We all regret that it took so long for us to arrive at the position we are today. What is important is that it has finally happened. What is important is that the APC Caucus in the Senate is now a one united body.
“The APC caucus in the Senate will now take full charge, full control and full dominance as the governing party and the majority party in the Senate. What is important is that with the action of our partners in the Senate, there is now clear, full reconciliation between the National Assembly and the party.
“It is also clear that given the fact that we are a party of change, certain principles must be observed. What is right is what is right and it is now clear that the authority and the supremacy of the party have finally been recognised, which is a critical ingredient to the smooth function of the apparatus of governance.”
