TRACKING >>Ahead of tomorrow’s inauguration of 9th National Assembly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators-elect have endorsed Senator Ahmad Lawan as the President for the 9th Senate.
It was learnt that the decision by the opposition senators was reached yesterday at a crucial meeting with members of the Senator Ahmad Lawan for Senate President Campaign Organisation at the residence of the immediate past Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.
However, no member of the caucus among the senators-elect picked calls put across to them by our correspondent for the confirmation of the endorsement.
The media aides to the relevant PDP senators-elect also refused to pick their calls, including those of Ekweramadu and the chairman of the PDP senate caucus in the 8th Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Lawan had earlier been endorsed by all, except two APC senators-elect, including a former Gombe State governor and leading contender to the 9th Senate Presidency, Senator Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe Central).
The two senators-elect that didn’t endorse Lawan are Ali Ndume (APC-Borno South) who is also contesting for the position of number three citizen and Lawan’s kinsman, Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai (APC-Yobe South).
Apart from Ekweremadu, other PDP senators-elect at the meeting, New Telegraphfurther learnt, include the outgoing deputy minority leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, Theodore Orji, Chukwuka Utazi, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Dino Melaye, James Manager, Peter Nwaoboshi, Gershom Bassey, and Uche Ekwunife, among others.
From the side of APC senators-elect were the immediate past governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, his counterpart from Yobe and Lawan’s kinsman, Ibrahim Geidam, and numerous others, including the chairman of Senator Ahmad Lawan for Senate President Campaign Organisation, Dr. Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) and the secretary, Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North).
Lawan had, last week during a chat with journalists, expressed confidence that he’s going to get endorsement of the PDP senators-elect for his ambition to lead the 9th Senate.
He said: “We are expecting PDP senators-elect to, all of them, have an understanding with us and endorse me as a caucus.”
He stressed that the earlier open endorsement by one of them, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, meant a feeling of patriotism and the necessity of the 9th Senate to work together in unity in order to improve the life of Nigerians.
The campaign organisation had, on Saturday, disclosed that out of the 62 APC senators-elect, 60 of them had endorsed Lawan by appending their signatures against their names in a list which was presented to the press at the briefing.
Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP-Anambra Central), who has since declared his support for Lawan, swelled the number of senators supporting him to 61.
Going by the latest development, it remains Lawan’s rival in the Senate Presidency race, Ndume and Bomai that are yet to support Lawan.
Reacting to Lawan’s endorsement by his colleagues in the APC, Ndume said he’s sure of becoming the next Senate President and promised to swing a surprise in the Red Chamber during tomorrow’s inauguration.
He said: “Well, I’ve said before that I am not looking for endorsement, but looking for votes on Election Day. You know clearly that there is the difference between endorsement and election. You would recall too that in 2015 that story of endorsement was canvassed.
“He has the endorsement, but what happened on the floor of the Senate was different. This kind of thing has been there all along; we have seen endorsements against several elections.
“We are there already and shall become past in question of hours from now.”
