A group of senators-elect  operating under the aegis of “Senate Unity Forum” supporting the candidature of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the Senate Presidency yesterday said it would not publish, as demanded by Bukola Saraki’s men, the names of 40 senators-elect rooting for him (Lawan) as senate president.

The Unity Forum, however, referred the “Senators of Like Minds” supporting Bukola Saraki, to approach the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the identities of the senators-elect supporting Lawan’s candidature.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the media office of “Lawan/Akume for Senate President,” it said that the resolution of members of Unity Forum in support of Senators Lawan and Akume was in a letter sent to the party with their names and signatures attached, “thus, anyone desirous of the list and signatures is free to approach our party.”

The statement was in reaction from the challenge by members of the “Like Minds” that the “Unity Forum” should disclose the identity of all its members.

While explaining that five senators out of the 40 members of the Unity Forum were unavoidably absent in Abuja to sign the letter, last Wednesday, leaving the 35 quoted in the media, the statement added that the party, ” remains the sole body that should be in the know of details of senators-elect that had signed on to the Lawan/Akume ticket and the party has the full list.

“Election into the principal offices of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should not be seen in the light certain types of election characterized by pettiness. We are talking of the upper chamber of the National Assembly,” the statement added.

Unity Forum, according to the statement, expressed regrets that their counterparts in the “Like Minds” group under the guise of campaign for the exalted office of the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are “taking steps that are not in line with parliamentary practices and one of them is the call for display of names and signatures on the pages of news papers.

“We are advocates of openness and transparency in the electoral process to produce the leaders of the senate as done in all parliaments in the world and the open voting system enshrined in the senate standing orders but that should be carried out in line with the parliamentary standards and not on the pages of newspapers” the statement added.

The forum said “after all, during voting to elect the senate president, each senator shall vote in the open so that electorate back home will know whom each senator- elect votes for, adding “we should not forget that the senate is the highest law making chamber in our political system and so anything to do with it should be mature and of high degree of decorum”

The statement noted that thrice in the on-going campaign, the party and others had to issue rebuttal to outrageous claims of the “Like Minds” on zoning of the Senate Presidency to North-Central, conduct of shadow election at the retreat and endorsement by some states, adding that the ” the Lawan/Akume campaigns are issues based and not misinforming Nigerians”

Sunday Mirror reports that senators under the aegis of “Senators of Like Minds” supporting Bukola Saraki for the Senate Presidency, had, Friday, challenged the Unity Forum senators supporting Ahmed Lawan to publish the list of his supporters as Saraki had done.

The “Senators of Like Minds” had warned that any imposition of leadership in the Senate would lead to ‘Banana Peel’, an euphemism for impeachment and crisis in the senate.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be maintaining his neutral stand on who emerges as the President of the Senate, stating clearly that he had no preferred candidate and was prepared to work with anyone who eventually emerges.

APC has been finding it difficult to pick consensus candidates at the Senate and House of Representatives levels.

Series of meetings held to resolve the impasse had so far failed.

However, in a statement signed by the spokesmen of the group, Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Ahmadu Sani Yerima, the Senators of Like Minds said: “In view of the controversy on the number of the senators supporting Saraki and Lawan for the senate presidency of the 8th senate, we challenge them in the same manner to publicly exhibit the names and signatories they claim are supporting Lawan.

“We equally urge them to consolidate it further by submitting the names of the senators that have passed a resolution endorsing Lawan as the next senate president as we,  the Senators of Like Minds did when we submitted the names and signatures of the 34 senators endorsing Saraki on May 24, 2015 as the next Senate President.

“Recall that on Tuesday this week, they promised to release to the public and indeed the Press Corp of the National Assembly the names and signatures of 40 senators purportedly supporting Lawan and Akume, but as at today, the number has changed to 35 and yet they cannot explain to the public the reason for the delay and change of numbers from 40 to 35

“We challenge them to publicly do same by publishing the list and forward same to the National chairman of our great party, Chief John Odigie Oyegun. As democracy continues to be game of numbers, Saraki is the President of the 8th Senate.

“On two occasions, APC as the ruling political party called for due internal democracy through primary elections. On the same two occasions, they have evaded these primary elections to determine the Senate President of the 8th senate.

“Their latest presentation to our National Chairman, that ranking should be a criteria for the selection of the next Senate President is fool hardy to suggest because if Lawan is the most ranking Senator, where then was he when George Akume was selected the minority leader of the senate.

“If ranking is the way to go, it should be across party line as Senator David Mark is the most ranking senator so far among the senators of the 8th senate. The inconsistence that they have displayed, only suggest to the fact that they do not have the numbers as they claim.

“Recall also that Senator Ken Nnamani became the senate president, despite the fact that he was not a ranking senator. Ditto, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and others. Akume when he contested David Mark  (Sixth Senate) in 2007  was not a ranking senator when he became the senate minority leader.”

The “Senators of Like Minds” warned of the dire consequences of imposition on the senate: “Senators must be allowed to choose their own leaders as impositions will only bring the ‘Banana Peel’ back to the Senate. We should adhere to the rules of the senate in choosing the next senate president.  In so doing, experience, acceptability and merit should be of prime importance.

“Imposition, harassment, intimidation and name dropping as well as threat will not produce the Senate President of the 8th senate.

We preach change, we must act change. Our resolve is total and our commitment is unshaken.”

Sunday Mirror recalls that each of the main contenders, though, is claiming to have more supporters than the other, to clinch the position, there appears to be confusion in the claims as Saraki camp compiled a list containing 34 APC senators elect while Lawal supporters claimed to be 40 in number when there are only 59 APC senators elect for inauguration.