About 51 senators of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were in a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on how to resolve the stalemate over the national assembly leadership election when Abubakar Bukola Saraki emerged senate president. Saraki was voted by 49 Peoples Democratic Party and five APC senators to become senate president. He was presented as sole candidate. Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president, also returned to the position he occupied in the 7th senate, following a deal struck between the PDP and Saraki for their support. Saraki was said to have traded-off Ali Ndume, (APC Borno), for Ekweremadu to consolidate his chances. The PDP held a meeting Sunday, after which it adopted Saraki and Yakubu Dogora as senate president and speaker of the House of Representative respectively. The meeting, with PDP governors in attendance, was also persuaded to adopt Saraki and Dogora to shame, decimate the APC and square up with the party’s national leader, Bola Tinubu. Tinubu is believed to be backing Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila for the senate and house of representatives leadership positions. The chances that the two would stand as the party’s candidates was reinforced by a straw election in which they emerged winners, but boycotted by the Saraki and Dogora groups.
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