The days of David Mark presiding over the Nigerian Senate might be numbered as fresh reports informed that some aggrieved senators in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, are plotting his removal.
According to a report published by the Daily Sun online, some senators who lost return tickets to the Upper Chamber in 2015 are gagging up against Mark.
It was disclosed that the senators are angry with the Mark-led chamber for not doing enough to protect them in the run-up to the senatorial primaries held on 8 December, 2014.
Some lawmakers were also compiling impeachable offences against President Goodluck Jonathan shortly before the Senate adjourned plenary two weeks ago, the report added.
It was gathered that the aim of those behind the plan to remove the President was to table impeachable offences against Jonathan as soon as the chamber resumes plenary this week.
However, latest reports informed that the aggrieved senators have decided to instead start the removal of the Senate leadership, starting with Mark.
“The plan has changed. We never expected the party to treat us this way. We stood by the party when there was turbulence occasioned by the emergence of the new PDP,” a senator who was privy to the deal told Daily Sun.
He added: “There was a plot then to impeach the same leadership but we stepped in and stopped it with our sheer number. In fact, we used our personal contacts to talk to the plotters and they backed down. We prevailed on them not to rock the boat moreso as the Seventh Senate had just a few months to go.
“We thought the party would take note of what we did and also, note our loyalty to the party and reward us. Rather, we were not even protected in these primaries. Can you imagine the party leaving us at the mercy of governors?”
According to the report, the senators are considering either Minority Leader George Akume or Chairman of the Committee on the Environment and Ecology, Bukola Saraki, as replacement for Mark.
The source stated that they do not want “the Senate Presidency to leave the North Central.” Meanwhile, the senators have vowed to fully throw their weight behind the embattled Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to retain his seat.
“Last week’s pronouncement that PDP governors don’t have to lose their seats because they moved to a new party would be fully applied here…”
It was gathered that the aggrieved lawmakers have not put a timeline to their plan to remove Mark as the Senate resumes plenary on Tuesday.
Also, the senators did not confirm whether the plot against Jonathan was still on the front burner or whether it would be tabled in the chamber this week, contrary to Senator Alkali Jajere’s interview with newsmen two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the Media Adviser to Senator Mark, Kola Ologbondiyan, has dismissed the alleged plot to remove his boss.
He said: “There’s no such plot.”
It would be recalled that some senators have reportedly threatened to impeach President Jonathanfor working against their political interests in their various states. The plot quickly grew when it filtered into the Senate, as a growing number of lawmakers were said to have teamed up with some Reps to remove the President.
However, reactions have trailed the impeachment plot, recently, the leader of the South South Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos, Sunday Ekanem, threatened the All Progressive Congress (APC) that there would be crisis in the polity if the plan orchestrated to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan scales through.
Also, Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria (NCSN) had also warned members of the National Assemblyagainst the purported plot to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan from office.
Meanwhile, Niger Delta former militants have also issued a dire warning to members of the House of Representatives over the alleged plot to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.
