PDP Is Plotting Secret Of Voting To Take Place Over 9th National Assembly

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators-elect are suspecting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting a secret ballot voting system to hijack the leadership of the National Assembly.

APC senators-elect, who pleaded anonymity, said the PDP was perfecting this plot ahead of the inauguration of the 9th session in June.

There is disquiet in PDP itself as interest groups root for different candidates as the next minority leader of the Red Chamber.

Three candidates are already in contention for the position. They are the current deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu, Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo Central).

An APC senator-elect accused the PDP of “already laying political landmines in the path of APC” with a view to having the legislative gavel by proxy.

The source said: “While the opposition party cannot reinvent the wheel in terms of the colouration of the legislature during the 9th session of National Assembly, it is trying to foist on the winning party, the Senate in particular, APC candidates that would do its bidding, using the Rule Book of National Assembly to achieve it.

“In implementing the plan, members of the opposition, with a large war chest made available by those being investigated by anti-corruption agencies, are ready to infiltrate National Assembly bureaucracy to perfect their plan.”

A ranking APC Senator said: “PDP is using their chieftains. They will begin the implementation of the two-pronged plan by engaging the top echelon of National Assembly bureaucracy and some APC Senators-elect for their buy-in on the need to continue the use of the forged 2015 Rule Book, especially its secret ballot provision, which paved the way for the emergence of the current Senate President, Bukola Saraki against the directives of his then party-APC