SENATE LEADER, CHIEF WHIP, MINORITY LEADER, OTHERS EMERGE THIS WEEK

By Kola Popson

As the Senators of the 8^th National Assembly convene today at the Upper Chamber, having undergone a two-week recess, there are strong indications that principal officers will emerge before the week runs out.

The principal positions to be contested for are Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chip Whip, Deputy Chief Whip and Minority leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Deputy Minority Whip.

It would be recalled that in a bid to ensure that their preferred candidates emerge principal officers of the Senate, both APC caucus and PDP caucus in the Senate had met separately yesterday in Abuja for hours.

In the same vein, in an attempt to prevent anything that might lead to disunity among APC senators in choosing the principal officers, the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun was said to have held a behind closed doors meeting with the two diverging groups of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Senator Ahmed Lawan yesterday.

In a similar development, it is expected that President Muhammad Buhari will forward the list of ministerial nominees to the Senate this week for scrutiny and approval.