Senate Principal offices: You can’t dictate to me Saraki tells APC

As a fresh crisis festers within the All Progressives' Congress (APC) caucus in the National Assembly, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has told the party to live with the fact that he is Senate President, and so no one can dictate to him or the senators on who occupies principal officers spots.

Saraki, and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, blinsided the leadership of the party to pick the two top spots in the National Assembly.

Even though President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be indifferent, big wigs like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not happy most especially when his anointed , Femi Gbajabiamila was rejected in the House of Representatives.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the no love lost between the Ahmed Lawan group and the Saraki flank is deepening despite chairman John Oyegun's last week's parley with both men.

On Tuesday, the party wrote the two leaders directing them to adopt candidates who lost at the elections as principal officers.

In its letter, the party picked Mr. Lawan as Senate Leader; Sola Adeyeye as Chief Whip; George Akume as Deputy Senate Leader; and Abu Ibrahim as Deputy Whip.

For the House Representatives,Mr. Gbajabiamila is the party's choice to emerge House Leader, while Mohammed Monguno would serve as Chief Whip; Alhassan Doguro Deputy Speaker; and Pally Iriase as Deputy Whip.

But Saraki has rejected the proposal, even though Dogara has expressed his willingness to accommodate one of those who lost out in the lower house.

Members supporting Saraki want the positions zoned by the Senate as follows: Majority Leader, North-East; Deputy Majority Leader, North-West; Chief Whip, South-West; and Deputy Whip, South-South.

Reports say that while Dogara has agreed to cede the House Leader, to the party, but that a member from his group should be the Chief Whip, Saraki, on the other hand is not ready to comply with the party's directives at all.

But the APC is holding its ground which resulted in the near fisticuffs yesterday. The party sources say, is not prepared to negotiate its directives with any of the two leaders this time.