Tension is mounting in the National Assembly as senators loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari begin collating signatures of their members in order to demystify upper house threatening to over-ride Buhari’s veto on the Election Amendment Bill.
The federal lawmakers, except a group of 10, have amended the bill to re-order the 2019 elections, but Buhari refuses to assent it because he believes it infringes on INEC’s powers to conduct elections.
The Senate, however, threatened to over-ride Buhari.
In the power that followed, 10 senators loyal to the president and led by Nasarawa Sen. Abdullahi Adamu walked out of the Senate, sparking a war between them and others believed to be loyal to Senate President Bukola Saraki.
On Wednesday, some APC governors loyal to the president joined forces with the protesting senators to mobilise more senators to join then so the pro-Saraki lawmakers won’t form the two-thirds majority required to over-ride Buharo’s veto.
Some ministers, at least one from the south-south, are in on it, too
At least as APC governor from the North-Central, one from the South-West and another from the North-West met with Adamu in Abuja recently.
The lawmaker however insisted that the meeting was to mobilise for Buhari’s defence and not to sack Saraki.
Conflict has been erupting in the upper house since last December when Sen. Issa Misau alleged that there was a plot to impeach Saraki.
And early in March, a senator from Ebonyi also said there are clandestine efforts going to sack the Senate president.