ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Two strong men of one of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s factions, the Senate Unity Forum (SUF), Senator Ahmad Lawan and Senator George Akume, on Thursday accepted a handshake from the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, as both men also accepted their chairmanship of Senate Standing Committees.
The implication may mean that the leadership crisis rocking the Senate in the past five months may soon be over as the major antagonists of Saraki’s emergence as the Senate President seem to have been pacified.
It will be recalled that both Lawan and Akume, who aspired to be the Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, had openly rejected Saraki’s emergence and vowed not to recognise his leadership.
The duo, in collaboration with the members of the SUF, who supported Lawan’s Senate presidency, therefore, continued to antagonise Saraki and his leadership.
Even when Sarki unveiled the 65 Standing Committees of the Senate two weeks ago, some of the members of the SUF declared the action as unconstitutional.
Both Senator Kabir Marafa and Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi, spokesman and secretary to the SUF, respectively, in particular, openly criticised the committees’ constitution, accusing Saraki of violating constitutional provisions and the rules of the Senate in the process.
However, in what appeared to be a reconciliatory move to pacify the aggrieved members of the SUF, Saraki named both Lawan and Akume to head two of the committees that are classified as Grade A or ‘juicy’.
While Lawan is the chairman of the Committee on Defence, Akume is given the slot to head the Committee on Army.
Lawan, Akume, Senator Barnabas Gemade and some other prominent members of the pressure group, refused to make comments as to whether or not they accepted their appointments to head the committees assigned to them.
But in a dramatic turn on Thursday when many spectators expected that Lawan and some of his supporters would be absent from the inauguration of some of the committees by the President of the Senate, including their own committees, Lawan, Akume and Abu Ibrahim were all present and fully participated in the exercise.
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When approached for their comments, after the inauguration, Lawan and Akume refused to speak to journalists.
“You know, I don’t talk to the press these days. I am on sabbatical”, Lawan simply said, and walked away.
Saraki, while inaugurating the committees, said that the Senate had put dynamic mechanisms in place to empower the committees to efficiently and independently discharge of their duties.
He assured that necessary resources would be made available to cover relevant activities of the committees in line with approved guidelines.
The implication may mean that the leadership crisis rocking the Senate in the past five months may soon be over as the major antagonists of Saraki’s emergence as the Senate President seem to have been pacified.
It will be recalled that both Lawan and Akume, who aspired to be the Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, had openly rejected Saraki’s emergence and vowed not to recognise his leadership.
The duo, in collaboration with the members of the SUF, who supported Lawan’s Senate presidency, therefore, continued to antagonise Saraki and his leadership.
Even when Sarki unveiled the 65 Standing Committees of the Senate two weeks ago, some of the members of the SUF declared the action as unconstitutional.
Both Senator Kabir Marafa and Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi, spokesman and secretary to the SUF, respectively, in particular, openly criticised the committees’ constitution, accusing Saraki of violating constitutional provisions and the rules of the Senate in the process.
However, in what appeared to be a reconciliatory move to pacify the aggrieved members of the SUF, Saraki named both Lawan and Akume to head two of the committees that are classified as Grade A or ‘juicy’.
While Lawan is the chairman of the Committee on Defence, Akume is given the slot to head the Committee on Army.
Lawan, Akume, Senator Barnabas Gemade and some other prominent members of the pressure group, refused to make comments as to whether or not they accepted their appointments to head the committees assigned to them.
But in a dramatic turn on Thursday when many spectators expected that Lawan and some of his supporters would be absent from the inauguration of some of the committees by the President of the Senate, including their own committees, Lawan, Akume and Abu Ibrahim were all present and fully participated in the exercise.
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When approached for their comments, after the inauguration, Lawan and Akume refused to speak to journalists.
“You know, I don’t talk to the press these days. I am on sabbatical”, Lawan simply said, and walked away.
Saraki, while inaugurating the committees, said that the Senate had put dynamic mechanisms in place to empower the committees to efficiently and independently discharge of their duties.
He assured that necessary resources would be made available to cover relevant activities of the committees in line with approved guidelines.
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