A dark horse, in the person of Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, may emerge as the president of the 10th Senate and chairman of the National Assembly.
An associate of the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District said other senators from the North-Central may push Senator Musa to contest the position of the Senate President.
The associate said this in Abuja on Monday, against the backdrop of speculations that some senators are already jostling for the number one job in the Red Chambers.
The associate, who made the disclosure on condition of anonymity, may have spoken from a vantage position, being a former member of the House of Representatives.
He said Senator Musa, who is the Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, would declare his ambition whenever the All Progressives Congress (APC) zones the various presiding and principal offices.
He expressed the hope that the APC would zone the Senate Presidency to the North Central geopolitical zone.
The source also disclosed that the APC national chairman, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, will not work against zoning the Senate Presidency to the North-Central zone.
According to him, the party chairman may want to promote the emergence of a President of the Senate from the zone and thus paving the way for Senator Musa’s emergence.
The anonymous former federal lawmaker declared: “Once the office is zone to North-Central, Senator Musa will run for the Office of the Senate President.
“We hope and pray that the APC would zone the office to the North Central zone because the zone has proven to be APC stronghold, especially Niger State that gave the highest votes in the zone.
“Senator Abdullahi Adamu will be interested in the emergence of Sani Musa as the next Senate President and he would not mind sacrificing his appointment to make that happen.”
He also ruled out the possibility of Senator Musa’s ambition clashing with that of the incumbent Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, being his friend and leader.
“Lawan and Musa are from different zones hence no clash of interest if the party comes out with zoning formula.
“As we speak, I do not think Senator Lawan is any longer going to contest the office of the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly,” he assured.
In the eventuality of the party not zoning the Senate Presidency to North-Central, he said: “Senator Musa would contest for the position of the Deputy Senate President, if zoned.
“He is already talking to his colleagues and close associates about his ambition,” the source added.
Senator Musa has joined other senators, including Orji Uzor Kalu, Godswill Akpabio, Barau Jibrin, Abdulaziz Yari, David Umahi and Adams Oshiomhole, who are all said to be eyeing the top position.
He is reputed to be the most popular senator in the Ninth National Assembly because of the importance of his committee to his colleagues, majority of whom he interact with, virtually on daily basis.
Popularly known as 313 among his colleagues, Musa narrowly missed being the APC National Chairman before President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the party appealed to the aspirants to step down for Senator Adamu Abdullahi.
Investigations also revealed that Musa was the favoured candidate of the president-elect, Senator Bola Tinubu, for the position of the party’s national chairman then.
It was disclosed that the fact that the Niger East senator supported Senator Lawan during the race for the party’s presidential ticket did not strain the relationship between him and Tinubu.
It was said that Senator Musa, a billionaire entrepreneur, played a major role in the election of Senator Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election and his eventual emergence as the president-elect.
