…As battle for party’s tickets rages
Indications that all is not well with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its caucus in the Senate emerged yesterday, precisely a week after the senators embarked on work-to-rule. Daily Sun gathered that 11 PDP senators from the North West had threatened to dump the party in view of what they considered the high-handedness of the party. The aggrieved senators told the party’s caucus that the PDP was becoming an endangered party in the zone because the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had gained ground. They likened the party’s tickets in the zone to ‘poisoned chalice”, thus corroborating another Senator, Edobor Uzemere, who hitherto, compared PDP tickets in Edo State to the “Zimbabwean dollar, which is of no value”
Meanwhile, the senators may return to the trenches because of moves by governors of the party to upturn a gentleman’ agreement reached by the lawmakers, the party and the Presidency.
Recall that a truce meeting convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Rock, last Friday, which had in attendance, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu reportedly resolved to ensure that at least two senators per state return to the chamber in 2015
Indications that all was not well with the party soon came to the fore when Senate President David Mark announced at plenary that the caucus would meet in Hearing Room 1 immediately after the session.
At the meeting, it was gathered that the senators reviewed the situation, against the backdrop of reports that “the Presidency would renege on the agreement reached with the lawmakers.
Sources in the National Assembly confirmed, on Wednesday that PDP governors held a meeting with President Jonathan after his formal declaration on Tuesday and that the governors, at the meeting argued that the President should revisit the issue of automatic tickets for Senators.
“We were told at the meeting that PDP governors met with the President late on Tuesday and resolved that the party should allow them to review the issue of automatic tickets to the governors on a state by state basis instead of granting automatic tickets to the senators just like that. We see this as a ploy to outwit the senators and undermine our agreement with President Jonathan and the party, ”the sources noted.
“We believe that the move by the governors is a fresh bid to shortchange the lawmakers and reverse the conclusion of the meeting we held with the President and the party. Senators are not happy and I can tell you that a number of people are already contemplating ditching the party,” a source in the National Assembly said.
The caucus, however, resolved that Mark should act as liaison between the Senate and the Presidency, and in effect, the party on further developments.
