APC rejigs Senate leadership list

 Fred Itua, Abuja

In a last-minute attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to pacify core loyalists who played a role in the emergence of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and his deputy, Ovie Omo-Agege, the party has rejigged the list of principal officers of the upper legislative chamber.

At a meeting held last week with senators elected on its platform, the party named a former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu as majority leader of the Red Chamber.

APC also named another former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as chief whip, while Ajayi Boroffice was named as deputy majority leader. Boroffice is from Ondo.

Yahaya Abdullahi was named deputy chief whip. Abdullahi headed the campaign organisation of Lawan when he ran for the office.

In the new list which is expected to be read by Lawan when the chamber resumes, today, Adamu was no longer in contention while Abdullahi, who was hitherto named as deputy chief whip is now majority leader-designate.

He is from North West geo-political zone.

Kalu and Boroffice retained their earlier positions, being from the South East and South West respectively..

Spokesman of the Eighth Senate, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, will now be deputy chief whip. He is from the North Central.

Sources told Daily Sun that the move to alter the list was necessitated by pressure from Lawan’s camp, aggrieved that their members who worked for the party were not duly rewarded.

Another source added: “Many core loyalists of Lawan were unhappy with the initial list.

“They believed that those who worked didn’t get what they deserved. They had to protest.

“The party listened and this is the result of the protest. We need a senate that will be fully on the same page with the Presidency and that is what we have now. It’s a win-win situation for all.”