By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
A faction of the troubled All Progressives Congress, APC sympathetic to President Muhammadu Buhari which masterminded the failed coup against Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu is not giving up. It has gone back to the drawing board and is set to activate the Plan B of the plot. The Source has exclusively gathered that the first phase of the Plan B involves expulsion of Saraki from the party.The National Working Committee of the APC will in the coming weeks meet where among other things, they will declare seats of the APC federal legislators who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, vacant, announce suspension of the Speaker of House of Representative s, Yakubu Dogara and outright expulsion of Saraki.
Saraki’s expulsion will immediately be followed by APC Senators, under heavy police and DSS escort storming the Senate Chambers. Senate President extempore will be appointed and his first duty will be to oversee Saraki’s and Ekweremadu’s impeachment. He will then announce Saraki’s suspension and that of all APC Senators now in the PDP.That done, a new Senate President will then be chosen and Sworn-in by the clerk of the Senate. The new Senate President will preside plenary briefly and then adjourn. Waiting Coaster Buses will afterward convey them to Aso Rock to pledge allegiance to Buhari, who,in the presence of the National Chairman of the party, Adam Oshiomwhole, will in turn accord the new Senate leadership recognition.
However, still contentious among the plotters and their sponsors is who between Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan and George Akume should step into Saraki’s shoes. There is also argument as to between Senators Hope Uzodinma and Ben Uwajimogu, both of them APC Imo Senators, who replaces Ekweremadu. Most North east and Northwest members of the Senate conspiracy gang favour one of their own, Senator Lawan while South west and North central flank of the conspirators are rooting for Akume, a former governor of Benue state.
There are however, powerful elements in Aso Rock and in the APC top echelon who think differently. According to them, about seven months to the 2019 general election, the most potent masterstroke to buy the South and get the region to drop its strong opposition to Buhari and the APC is to pick Saraki’s replacement from there. Accordingly, a powerful cabal around President Buhari is now assiduously working to enthrone Senator Uzodinma, who defected from the PDP to the APC early this year and has since then been vociferous in supporting Buhari’s second term, as the new Senate President.
The source learnt that ring leaders of the impending second putsch against Saraki are aware that if he remains Senate President till September when the Senate reconvenes, his first act in the plenary will be the announcement of his defection and that of about 10 more APC senators to the PDP thereby dealing a mortal blow to the APC and wrecking irredeemable damage to Buhari’s second term bid.
