One of Teslim Folarin and AbdulFatai Buhari may become the leader of the Nigerian Senate, OYOINSIGHT.COM has reportedly learnt.
This is due to the resignation of Yahaya Abdullahi as majority leader, after his defection from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This newspaper understands that senate president Ahmad Lawan had announced this while reading resignation letters of lawmakers who defected at the resumption of plenary on Tuesday.
Their resignation followed their defection from the political parties on which they were elected as senators.
Abdullahi, in his resignation letter, had said he left APC due to lack of internal democracy in the party.
The vacancy created by the exit from senate’s leadership is yet to be replaced.
The vacant positions do not call for election on the floor of the senate, rather, fall on the senate caucus of the zone that produced the principal officer to select a replacement from their zone. The caucus is expected to write their party about the nomination for onward transmission to the senate president for announcement.
Folarin, who is the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, is serving his third term in the red chambers. He was first elected in 2003, at 39, and between 2007 and 2011, during his second term, he was leader of the senate. He was re-elected for the third term in 2019, becoming the first senator to serve a senatorial district for a third record term.
Though his colleagues are mounting pressure on him to take the position since he’s done it and performed before, Folarin, who was yesterday promoted from Ayingun to Asaaju Olubadan yesterday is said to be concerned about his gubernatorial bid and does not want anything to derail him.
“He is still pressured to take the position because he has got the gut and experience. Oga Folarin does not want to combine the two task because he believes what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Being the senate leader is a rigorous task that needs serious attention. He is expected to give his words in the coming weeks,” a source close to the red chambers but who preferred anonymity told OYOINSIGHT.COM.
Buhari is another experienced lawmaker too. He is one of the top lawmakers with bills and motions. He was first elected into the house of representatives in 2003 and was there till 2007. He won his bid to represent Oyo North in the 2015 election and was re-elected. He has experiences in both the green and red chambers. Apart from the above, the Ogbomoso-born lawmaker who just won his primaries to enable him contest for a record third term is seen by his colleagues as someone who is calm and cool, said the same source.
“Luckily, the two of them are being considered for the jobs. Though there are others too who are being looked at,” noted the source.
