Why APC succumbed to Saraki, Dogara leadership

Mohammed Yusuf |

Fresh facts emerged on Monday that All Progressives Congress, APC succumbed to the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President because it’s afraid of rebellion from party members.

A prominent member of the senate and addict supporter of Saraki (name withheld) told Hallmark Newspaper that some APC senators had threatened to revolt against the leadership of the party if it failed to accept Saraki leadership.

It will be recalled that after a series of consultations, the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Friday announced that the party was ready to work with Saraki and Dogara.

The source said, “Odigie-Oyegun’s statement on Friday represented the position of the party’s National Working Committee. APC was aware that if it kept to its hard line on the matter, the National Assembly members, who backed Saraki and Dogara, might rebel against it (APC). The party will have to live with the reality that Saraki and Dogara are the new leaders of the National Assembly or else there will be rebellion.“

According to the source, APC leadership will not want to open the party to what the Peoples Democratic Party did to itself in the case of (former Reps Speaker, Aminu)Tambuwal .

“When he (Tambuwal) emerged against their (PDP) will, instead of finding a way to manage it, they alienated him until he left them with a lot of his colleagues to join us (APC). We will not allow this to happen to us.”

The party source also revealed that as part of efforts to further douse tension, Saraki and Dogara would be prevailed upon not to sideline their defeated colleagues.

Towards this end, they are expected to concede the chairmanship of some of choice committees in both the Senate and the House to members of the other camps.