The joint ticket of Senators Ahmad Lawan and George Akume for the Senate presidency is now gaining more support from senators of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as members of the Unity Forum have increased to 40, LEADERSHIP findings revealed yesterday.

The race for the presidency of the 8th Senate had narrowed down last Saturday to a straight fight between Lawan and Dr Bukola Saraki after Akume from the North Central and his supporters teamed up with Lawan from the North-East.

At a two-day retreat organised by the APC for its senators-elect, Akume was said to have agreed to take the ticket of deputy Senate president after consultations with his fellow senators and party leaders.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the Unity Forum, under the chairmanship of Senator Barnabas Gemade, which forged a consensus in support of Lawan as Senate president and Akume as deputy, presently boasts of 40 members.

Investigation revealed that since the Lawan/Akume ticket was announced, some APC senators, who were undecided, have finally thrown in their hat in favour of the duo.

"Many senators-elect who were yet to make up their minds before our retreat have now come on board because of the ticket and our issues-based campaign," a ranking senator-elect who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, noted.

He said the Lawan/Akume ticket for the Senate presidency race was recording more successes with 40 of them on board at the last count, adding that opposition leaders in the chamber were just as excited by the team.

Another ranking senator-elect who spoke to LEADERSHIP yesterday said the Lawan/Akume ticket was unbeatable because it was akin to the presidential ticket of the APC that won the presidential election for the party.

He said, "All senators-elect across the political divide in the yet- to-be-inaugurated Senate are already identifying with it, especially those in our APC.

"Experience-wise, we have been telling our distinguished colleagues across party lines that the Lawan/Akume ticket will provide the nation with the much desired legislative know-how because Senator Lawan is going to be the highest ranking APC senator in the 8th Assembly while Senator Akume is a former state governor and a legislator in the last eight years as well as the minority leader."

The senator-elect further said it had not been difficult to sell the ticket to their colleagues as one that would be on the same page with the executive on the issue of corruption "because Lawan and Akume, from the available records of their service to the country in the public domain, have been on the same page with Nigerians on the menace.

"From the pronouncements of our party leaders and their body language, what is of utmost importance to them is for the National Assembly to start on a clean slate with principal officers who will be seen as not only transparent but transparently honest who do not carry any baggage of past scandals no matter how small," he added.

It was also gathered that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Senate had affirmed their readiness to vote Lawan and Akume as Senate president and deputy respectively.

"The PDP leaders in the Senate are excited by the new team with the collapse of the campaign structure of Senator George Akume into that of Lawan", the APC ranking senator-elect further said.

While admitting that some APC national leaders are currently engaging PDP leadership in the Senate, he said their counterparts in the opposition party told them that the Lawan/Akume ticket had made things easy for them.

"Some PDP senators-elect were quoted as having promised not to betray the ticket made up of the most APC ranking senator and the party's minority leader should there be need for election on June 4 when the eight session of the National Assembly will be inaugurated," our source added.

Saraki ups consultation

Similarly, senators from another group, known as Like Minds, have disclosed that 35 out of the 59 APC senators-elect had endorsed Senator Bukola Saraki for Senate president.

The group, which has Senator-elect Dino Melaye as its spokesman, however, did not name any candidate for deputy Senate president, saying when the time is right, the candidate will be made known.

"Of the 59 senators of the APC, 35 of us present here today hereby reaffirm our collective commitment and resolution to ensure the candidature of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the Senate president of the 8th Assembly. We have also resolved that the office of the deputy Senate president be zoned to the North East," Melaye stated.

"Our stand is about electing a senator who eventually becomes the chairman of National Assembly and relates with the executive on behalf of Nigerians, fellow senators and the National Assembly as an institution."

Group backs Saraki

Not wanting to be left out, a group under the auspices of Yoruba Youth Assembly has endorsed Senator Bukola Saraki for the post of the Senate president.

Spokesman of the group, Rotimi Opeyeoluwa, in a press statement noted that the office of the Senate president is the third most important elective office and, as such, electing the right man to lead it is a task that the recently elected Senators must take seriously because of the high expectations of Nigerians for quality governance.

According to the group, the required synergy which the presidency would need must resonate with the thinking of the leadership of the National Assembly, especially the Senate leadership, for a strategic executive-legislature partnership that would deliver the goods for the people of Nigeria.

"The jostling has provoked a floodgate of commentaries on the suitability or otherwise of perceived front runners. Several names are being bandied about, but one that stands out on account of his level of preparedness is Senator Abubakar Saraki, the scion of the late strongman of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki."

APC debunk zoning seat to North-Central

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has debunked reports in circulation that claims its National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday night and decided to zone the Senate presidency to the North-Central zone and the speakership of the House of Representatives to the South-West.

The party, in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its national secretary, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, and made available to journalists, said nothing like that ever happened.

APC said it was deeply embarrassed by the story which was apparently planted in the media to sow the seeds of instability in the party.

"The NWC never discussed the issue of zoning at its meeting. Therefore, the report of its decision on zoning is a figment of the imagination of whoever concocted the story," it said.

APC further said nothing had changed since the president-elect said he was ready to work with anyone from any part of the country who occupies any of the principal offices of the incoming National Assembly.

Arewa group hails Lawan/Akume combination

A northern youth non-governmental and non-political organisation known as The Arewa Liberation Front has commended the partnership of Senators Ahmad Lawan and George Akume for Senate president and deputy Senate president respectively.

The group declared its stance in a statement jointly signed by the secretary-general of the association, Muhammed Abbas, and its publicity secretary, Danladi Kefes, and made available to journalists in Abuja.

The statement read in part, "We are mostly concerned about the situation in the National Assembly because we are aware that, that institution holds the key to the growth and development of our country's democracy and her general wellbeing.

"We have seen that the failures of the PDP government have been as a result of its failures to harness the resources at the National Assembly to fashion a growth formula for our country.

"We are pleased to see the emergence of the alliance between supporters of Senator Ahmad Lawan, the chairman of Public Accounts Committee, and the Senate minority leader, Senator George Akume, who have been tipped for the post of Senate president and deputy Senate president respectively.

"We make bold to say that the alliance is indeed a winning alliance as Akume, with his close to 30 supporters, is teaming up with Senator Lawal whose support base cuts across four geopolitical zones."

Going further, the organisation applauded Akume for his display of statesmanship and strong character "by stepping down for Lawan," a move, they said, "will continue to highlight him as a reliable political force henceforth."