With 24 hours to the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly, the contest for the position of Senate President between Senators Bukola Saraki (APC Kwara Central) and Ahmad Lawan (APC Yobe North) took a different dimension over the weekend with 33 out of 59 All Progressives Congress (APC) senators openly backing the candidature of Lawan.

This was even as Saraki, in a press statement issued yesterday, claimed to have the backing of 65 senators across party lines for the contest tomorrow, the faces of whom he promised to show the public at a press briefing today in Abuja.

Out of the 65 senators, Saraki claimed to be in his support, 39 are of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has a total of 49 Senators-elect since there are only 26 senators left for him in the APC fold after Lawan had secured the support of 33 who elected him as the sole candidate of the party for presidency of the 8th Senate tomorrow.

Depletion of Saraki’s support base among the APC senators-elect from 35 earlier claimed by his group, the "Like Minds Senators" to 26 on Saturday night, was as a result of last-minute defections made by some of them into the Senate Unity Forum, the Lawan group.

Notable senators who made such defections as glaringly captured on Saturday night by the Newswatch Times at the International Conference Centre ( ICC) Abuja, the venue of the APC primary election where Lawan emerged sole candidate were: Comrade Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central), Usman Bayero Nafada (Gombe Central), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) and the rest

But Saraki, in his press statement signed by coordinators of the ‘Like Minds Senators,’ Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and Rufai Ahmad Sani Yerima (Zamfara West), said the outcome of the APC primary election has no binding on his aspiration as he will contest against Lawan on the floor of the Senate tomorrow morning since there are 65 senators across party lines on his side.

The statement reads, in part: "We, the Senators-elect of Like Minds today, 6th of June 2015, on the invitation of our party, attended an interactive meeting with selected five members from each group, the Unity Forum and the Like Minds Group.

"Regrettably, the Unity Forum insisted on open ballot voting, which we discovered is different from the electoral process used to conduct the earlier election with the House of Representatives members-elect. To us, this open ballot voting is primitive; undemocratic and against universal electoral norms and practice.

"In the light of the above, we, the Senators-elect of Like Minds, hereby insist on our position of Open Secret voting process which we believe is in consonance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the universal electoral values.

"As responsible citizens of Federal Republic of Nigeria, and leaders in our own right, we have resolved and hereby state that we shall not be part of a process that promotes undemocratic electoral process that may resort to rancorous and uncivil situations which inhibit the rights of individuals to vote for the candidate of their choice, as this process will further divide us than unite members of our party.

"In conclusion, we the senators-elect of Like Minds wish to state categorically that we will participate only in the constitutional election scheduled for Tuesday, the 9th of June 2015 in line with the rules of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"We by this press statement invite the media to a joint press conference by the 65 senators-elect of Like Minds drawn from across party lines on Monday morning, the 8th of June 2015."

Indeed, Senator Lawan (Yobe North), yesterday, emerged as the sole candidate of the APC for the position of Senate President, hours after the emergence of Hon Femi Gbajabiamila as the sole candidate of the party for the Speakership position of the 8th House of Representatives.

But Lawan’s main challenger, Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), hopes to swing the party’s position with the support of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators-elect to whom his group is reaching out, while northern elders and youths are urging the lawmakers to support the party’s choice of senator Lawan for the position.

Lawan’s election, which was conducted between 11.30 and 11.45 pm by the National Working Committee ( NWC) of the party led by its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had 33 out of the 59 APC senators in attendance with 32 of them voting for him and the remaining one vote voided.

The 33 senators also participated in the election of George Akume (Benue North West) as the party’s sole candidate for the position of Deputy Senate President with 31 of them voting for him, while the remaining two votes were voided.

The National Secretary of the party, who served as returning officer for the primary election, had earlier called for nominations upon which Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) nominated Ahmad Lawan for the position of Senate President and seconded by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central).

For the position of Deputy Senate President, Senator Robert Ajayi Borofice (Ondo North) moved for nomination of George Akume, while Senator Shehu Sani from Kaduna Central seconded it.

However the remaining 26 APC Senators-elect who were not at the election venue held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, belong to Bukola Saraki’s camp otherwise known as the ‘Like Minds" group whose absence, Newswatch Times learnt, had to do with disagreement over modalities forthe election.

Lawan, in his acceptance speech, had said he felt humbled and challenged by the honour done him by the party but appealed to the party leadership to help in reaching out to the remaining 26 senators-elect, just as he promised to also reach out to the 49 PDP senators-elect before the election proper tomorrow.

But the senators-elect have been urged to abide with the decision of the APC on the candidacy of Senator Lawan as President of the Senate and Akume as the Deputy President.

A group of prominent northern elders, youths and civil societies, under the umbrella of Concerned Northern Elders and Youths made the call yesterday after a meeting in Abuja.

In a statement jointly signed by their interim co-ordinator and Secretary, Mohammed Idris and Mr. Joshua Inusa, respectively, the group cautioned the new senators against compromising credibility in the choice of National Assembly leadership.

They urged the lawmakers to key into President Buhari’s zero tolerance for corruption by voting for credible and corrupt-free senator like Lawan as president.

"With President Buhari’s statement that he would only work with and support people of unquestionable character, it is imperative for the incoming legislators to assist the President in ensuring that only a man of integrity, whose past was not in any way characterised by either allegation of corruption, impunity or any other unwanted behaviour, to become President of the Senate.

"To this end, after careful review and consultation with elders, youths and a number of civil society groups in the North, we hereby resolved to endorse Senator Ahmad Lawan.

"We are calling on our senators to allow reason to prevail and disregard any shenanigans. The choice of Sen. Lawan was informed by his opponent’s antecedent as a governor and the numerous allegations of corruption and sundry issues against him," they argued.

The group also called on the leadership of the APC not to compromise on Buhari’s stance against corruption by ensuring that their members tow the same line in choosing a man of impeccable character like Lawan as President of the Senate.