Senate President Bukola Saraki May Declare Akpabio, Other PDP Defectors’ Seats Vacant

Senate President Bukola Saraki May Declare Akpabio, Other PDP Defectors’ Seats Vacant

The nation may witness yet another showdown in the Senate as the senators cut short their vacation to discuss President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 polls budget request.

Apart from the fact that constant fierce arguments between members of the All Progressives Congress and the opposition Peoples Democratic Congress will be a regular occurrence, investigations have revealed that a major step to send some senators back home would cause a major uproar in the red chamber.

A source, who is very close to the leadership of the Senate, confided in one of our correspondents on Friday that arrangements were being perfected to ensure that the former senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, and others who defected recently from the PDP to the APC and other parties recently face a recall process.

The source hinted that the move against the defectors started just before the Senate went on recess, with the refusal of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, to read the letter of defection submitted to him by Akpabio.

No fewer than four senators have dumped the PDP but their defections have not been declared on the floor of the Senate. While three of them left the PDP for the APC, one of them left for the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

For instance, senators Hope Uzodinma (Imo State) and Fatimah Raji-Rasaki (Ekiti State), formerly of the PDP, have been attending APC meetings and events within and outside the Senate.

Also, Senator Sonny Ogbuoji (Ebonyi State) recently introduced himself as the “the newest catch” of the APC when the National Working Committee of the party met with the Senate caucus.

Similarly, Stella Oduah (Anambra State) had joined APGA in Anambra State.

Shortly after the defections of 14 senators to the PDP were announced, the APC Caucus had addressed journalists where the Majority Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, while responding to a question on why the party listed those who had yet to formalise their defections at the Senate, said they only needed to register with the ruling party.

Lawan had said the public appearance of Uzodinma and Raji-Rasaki with the APC caucus members had answered the question.

There, Uzodinma alleged that he had written to the Senate President to declare his defection on the floor but his letter was not read.

“I am a bona fide, registered, financial card-carrying member of the APC. As you are aware, two months ago, I wrote to the leadership of the Senate. The duty to read it is not mine. But I am now a member of the APC,” he said.

Raji-Rasaki also said, “Recently, I have made it open and public to all Nigerians that I’ve moved from the PDP to the APC. I have done it in my ward and I have done it here.”