There are indications of a seeming disconnect between the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the party being alienated from key decisions taken in Aso Rock presidential villa as well as the National Assembly.
National chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, yesterday disowned the principal officers of the National Assembly announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
Specifically, Adamu refuted reports suggesting that the leadership of the governing party has endorsed certain APC lawmakers for principal offices.
The national chairman who made the rebuttal during a meeting between the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and governors elected on the party’s platform described reports in this regard as a ‘rumour’.
Akpabio had declared Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) as the majority leader of the 10th Senate and Senator David Umahi (Ebonyi South) as deputy majority leader.
He also named the erstwhile Senate leader, Ali Ndume (Borno South), as chief whip and Lola Ashiru (Kwara South) as the deputy chief whip.
In the House, Speaker Abbas had yesterday named Hon Julius Ihonvbere (Edo) as majority leader and Hon Usman kumo (Gombe) as chief whip.
Abbas also named Halims Abdulahi from Kogi as deputy majority leader and Hon Oriyomi Onanuga from Ogun as the deputy chief whip.
The Speaker equally, announced Hon Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) as the minority leader; Hon Ali Isah (PDP, Gombe), minority whip; Madaki Aliyu (NNPP, Kano) deputy minority leader and George Ozodinobi (Anambra, LP) deputy minority whip.
But debunking the endorsement of principal officers of the National Assembly during the meeting of APC governors and NWC members held at the NWC Hall of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Adamu told the governors that the party has not officially stated the presiding officers.
The meeting, reports gathered, was to discuss critical issues bordering on the forthcoming National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings billed to hold on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
A former Senator from Kaduna South, Senator Shehu Sani, yesterday expressed his conviction that all was not well with the APC leadership and its government at the centre, noting that the National Assembly leadership appears to be conferring with the presidency without consulting with the party.
“Akpabio and Abbas’ list SEEMS to have been announced with the consent of the President but without consulting or harmonising with the party. The signal here is that the party is shut out or kept at arm’s length,” Shehu Sani tweeted on his Twitter handle, @ShehuSani.
