Fresh crisis is brewing within the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) as the party is now pitched against the leadership of the National Assembly(NASS) in its bid to impose principal officers on the latter. LEADERHIP yesterday reliably gathered that the party is on the path of imposing candidates on NASS for the remaining leadership positions in the two chambers, a move majority of APC lawmakers have vowed to resist.

LEADERSHIP recalls that barely two weeks ago, some members of the party in the two chambers of the National Assembly defied the order of their party to vote for Senator Ahmad Lawan as senate president and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila as speaker of the House of Representatives.

However, on the day of the election, some APC lawmakers joined forces with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leading to the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, as senate president and deputy president of the senate, while the House elected Yakubu Dogara and Yusuf Lasun, as speaker and deputy, respectively.

But the positions of majority leader, deputy majority leader, majority whip and deputy majority whip were yet to be filled in the two chambers.

A reliable source, a serving lawmaker, who confided in LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity, said they were ready for another showdown with the top leadership of the party on the matter.

He said, "We are tired of just a few people trying to impose their candidates on us and we will resist it. How can just a few persons decide to put their own interest before that of the party? The best we can do is allow these people choose the zone the positions will go to but for them to handpick the candidates, we say no!"

The lawmaker added that the national working committee of the party was on the side of the protesting legislators and has appealed to the south-west leader of the party and the party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, to allow the senators and members of the House choose their principal officers themselves.

He continued, "Party supremacy supersedes personal interests. We will not allow a few hands to hijack a party that we all laboured to bring to power. We are the ones who will work with these people so we will choose who we want. Just like the previous attempt, this is already dead on arrival," he stressed.

The APC senators' numerical strength is 59 with the death of Borno senator, Ahmed Zannah, on Saturday, May 16, while the PDP has 49 members.

The convention in the senate, just like it is in the House, is that after the emergence of the two presiding officers, the senate president and deputy senate president, caucuses would be asked to meet and choose their leaders.

But contrary to that, it was gathered that the south-west leader has written to APC's national working committee (NWC) with a list of names to fill the remaining leadership positions.

Another ranking senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that the lawmakers have been briefed about a letter allegedly written by the south-west leader, saying that "steps have been taken by a clique in the party, headed by this national leader to subvert the subsisting tradition in the senate with regards to filling the remaining four leadership positions.

"Some of us were just called by some members of the NWC, intimating us of details of a letter forwarded to the body that it should just fill the remaining four leadership positions in the senate."

APC NWC meeting deadlocked

Meanwhile, efforts by the party's NWC to reconcile the sharply divided leadership of the party that have been at loggerheads since the June 9, NASS leadership election, yesterday proved abortive as they could not reach a compromise.

After several hours of deliberation at the party's national secretariat, Abuja, committee members remained divided over the approach adopted by the party in the election of principal officers of the National Assembly which raised controversy within the ranks of the party.

The meeting which was the first after the National Assembly leadership crisis was presided over by Odigie-Oyegun with all the members of the NWC in attendance.

When reporters who had laid siege at the party's secretariat approached the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed after the meeting on the outcome of the meeting, he rebuffed reporters referring them to meet the national chairman for comments.

However, speaking to journalists on the deliberation at the meeting Odigie-Oyegun said the meeting would continue today.

Tinubu's banner removed from secretariat

But the banner bearing the image of the APC national leader and former Lagos state governor Bola Tinubu was allegedly removed from the party's national secretariat in Abuja yesterday.

A source at the party disclosed that the removal of Tinubu's image might not be unconnected with the rift among party leaders following the outcome of the National Assembly election.