The All Progressive Congress (APC) has explained why it picked Ahmed
Lawan, the current leader of the 8th Senate, as its candidate for Senate
Presidency in the 9th Senate.
Mr Lawan was the preferred
candidate of the ruling party when the formation of the 8th Senate was
due in 2015. But the dream did not come true because another lawmaker,
Bukola Saraki, who belonged to the party at the time emerged winner.
The
emergence of Mr Saraki was against the wish of the APC with several
attempts to oust the top lawmaker thwarted. He was elected Senate
President due to an alliance he formed with the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to carry them along.
The spokesperson of
the ruling party, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the APC settled for Lawan
because just like Saraki, the lawmaker is able to carry his colleagues
along.
“It is important to note that one of the key
considerations for adopting him as the party’s candidate for the Senate
Presidency is his ability to carry everyone along,” Mr Issa-Onilu said.
“On
top of that, the party has confidence in him not to compromise the
progressive ideology of APC. So clearly, Senator Ahmed Lawan is capable
of conducting his negotiations within the prism of APC’s objectives,” he
added.
