The race for the leadership of the incoming ninth National Assembly may have taken another dimension as President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly personally taken charge of lobbying incoming lawmakers to support Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila
Ahmad Lawan is seeking to be the next Senate president, while Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is interested in becoming the next speaker of the House of Representatives.
It was reported that well placed sources said the president is taking nothing for granted to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015.
A top source said: “Following complaints of imposition, the President has decided to reach out to the main aspirants to explain to them that he is actually the one who is interested in working with Lawan and Gbajabiamila.
“His determination to leave sustainable legacies has made him to be involved in opening talks with some aspirants.
“The President is reaching out because there is a lot of disinformation as if he is not personally involved in the demand for Lawan and Gbajabiamila.
“He is also worried that the election of principal officers is being personalized beyond the actors in the National Assembly.
“He met with Goje and begged him to support his choice of Lawan. Actually, the meeting with Goje was facilitated by Governor Nasir el-Rufai after preparatory discussion with the former governor of Gombe State.
A presidency source said: “Apart from the APC governors, the President will have a follow-up meeting with Ndume. But his emissary (el-Rufai) has done preliminary consultations.” According to another source, President Buhari has met with Ahmed Idris Wase from Plateau State, one of the lawmakers interested in becoming speaker of the House of Representatives.
President Buhari was said to have met with the lawmaker on the need for him to step down for Gbajabiamila.
The source said: “The President persuaded Wase to concede the Speaker slot to Gbajabiamila in the light of his second term agenda.
“He told Wase that although as a ranking member, he is entitled to lead the chamber but he wants to work with Gbajabiamila while Wase can be part of the team of the new Speaker.
“It was a confidence building session facilitated by an APC governor. But Wase is yet to make any commitment.
