***As Party holds Meeting with  Old and New Lawmakers thereafter

***As Tinubu Backs Adeola for Senate Leader 

• South May retain Chief Whip Position, Deputy Whip for North West
• Senate President for South South, Deputy for North Central; Speaker goes to North West, House Leader to North Central

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- AHEAD of the inauguration of the National Assembly and barring last minute change, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC will hold the meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC a week after the Sallah celebration to brainstorm on the zoning arrangement of positions of Presiding officers and principal offices for both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Vanguard gathered yesterday that the National Executive Committee, NEC would hold its meeting immediately after the NWC in order to ratify the position of the National Working Committee of the party on the geo- political zones of the country the positions have been zoned to.

According to the source, the leadership of the party would before the ratification meet with all the Old and new lawmakers to brainstorm and be on the same page.

As gathered the APC wants to engage in these  meetings as part of moves to come out with the zoning formula in order to avoid a repeat of 2015 when the outgoing President of the Senate was the  favoured candidate of the APC  for the position of Senate President, and with a majority in the Senate, he was expected to carry the day, but with smartness and battle of wits  that played out, he did not get it.

It would be recalled on  June 8, 2015, the day the formal election for Senate President was to be held, while majority of APC Senators, about 50, were waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari who had invited them to a meeting with him at the International Conference Centre, Senator Bukola Saraki and other senators of the APC moved into the National Assembly Complex for the election of principal officers. A total 57 Senators loyal to  Saraki, most of them PDP members, unanimously elected him after he was nominated by Senators Dino Melaye and Sanni Ahmed  Yerima and that was how Lawan lost out.

A source told Vanguard yesterday that the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, APC, Lagos West and coming to the 10th Senate as Senator representing Ogun West is being favoured by the President- elect, Senator Bola Tinubu for the position of Senate Leader.

Though before now,  Senator Adeola is said to be speaking with both the old and new Senators to support him for the position of Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, a position Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano Norh is occupying at the moment as he has thrown his hat for the Senate Presidency position.

Vanguard also gathered that there are moves to zone the position of Senate President to the South where the South East would want to clinch it, but the development is that it is being microzoned to the South South.

According to sources at the meeting, the position of Deputy Senate President is still being considered to be zoned to the North Central.

It was also gathered that the position of Chief Whip of the Senate is being pushed to North West , Deputy Senate leader for North East, South East to produce the Deputy Whip, but the latest consideration that has not been concluded is for the South East to retain the position of Chief Whip in the 10th Senate as it is in the present 9th Senate and if it happens, the North West would produce the Deputy Whip.

Vanguard also gathered that the position of Speaker, House of Representatives would be in the North West, while the Deputy House leader is being looked at in the position of North Central. 

Recall that following the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC after the National Assembly election, of the present lawmakers in the red Chamber,  30 of the old in the present 9th Senate  succeeded in the election, just as the ruling APC is comfortable with the majority of both old and new  with a total number of fifty seven Senators; the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has a total number of twenty- nine   Senators; the Labour Party has six  Senators; the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP has two; Social Democratic Party, SDP has two, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and the Young Progressives Party, YPP have one Senator each.

Those who have indicated interest to contest for the position of Senate President in the 10th Senate include, serving Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North); Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East); Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North); Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North); Senator Godswill Akpabio (APC, Akwa Ibom North-West); Deputy Senate leader, Senator Abdul Ningi (APC, Bauchi Central); and Senator Abdul- Aziz Yari (APC, Zamfara)

Also, Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South and Senator Osita Izunaso from Imo State have both declared their intentions to run for the office.

There  are insinuations that Governor David Umahi (APC, Ebonyi South) and Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), are interested in becoming Senate Pesident, but the issue of ranking would play out.

At least, nine federal lawmakers had also joined the race for the position of the Speaker, House of Representatives. 

They are,  Aliyu Betara (North East); Aminu Sani Jaji (North West); Abbas Tajudeen, Kaduna; Idris Wase (North Central);  Benjamin Kalu (South East); Ado Doguwa (North West); Yusuf Gagdi (North Central); Princess Mariam Onuoha (South East); Makki Abubakar Yalleman (North West);  and Abdulraheem Olawuyi (North Central).