The All Progressives Congress (APC), described by its critics as a platform with individuals of disparate interests, is about to be haunted again by the mistakes it made in electing presiding officers of the National Assembly in 2015.Eight years after, the ruling party to commit the same sin that nearly tore the party apart over the choice of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly.
The camaraderie that trailed its victory in last general election has taken flight, giving way to nerve-racking intrigues, no thanks to the battle over who gets what and how in the 10th National Assembly.
Party chieftains and power blocks were confounded last weekend at the National Caucus meeting where pronouncement on its zoning formular for the offices of Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker House of Representatives and Deputy was made.
At the meeting which had president-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate president, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, in attendance, the duo of immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North West, Godswill Akpabio and chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Barau Jibrin ( Kano North), were handpicked as favoured the choices for Senate president and Deputy Senate president. For the leadership of the Green Chamber, Honourables Tajudeen Abass (representing Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State) and Benjamin Kalu from Bende Federal Constituency Abia State were anointed choices of the caucus for leadership of the House of Representatives. It was a template expected to pair South-South and North-West for the Red Chamber and the North-West and South-East for the Green Chamber.
Sunday Tribune checked revealed that before the national caucus’ unveiling of its “zoning formular” aspirants for the presiding officers of both chambers cut across the ethnic divides.
For the Senate, the list parades Senators Ali Ndume (North-East); Orji Uzor Kalu; OsitaI zunaso; Governor Dave Umahi (South-East); Sani Musa and Abdul Aziz Yari from North-Central and North-West, respectively.
Barely 24 hours after the pronouncement of APC national caucus, a meeting was held at the Ebonyi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, where the senator-elect for Ebonyi South played host to some of his colleagues. At the meeting, Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) and Umahi announced their intention to discontinue the race for Senate leadership in deference to the instruction of the president-elect, Tinubu.
In what was a fait accompli, the APC National Working Committee met on Wednesday where it merely ratified the decision of the national caucus.
The national officers however dropped the hint that they were equally not comfortable with micro zoning of the offices to certain individuals at the behest of Tinubu and urged for further consultations.
The statement read to newsmen by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka read in part: “The NWC noted with respect the outcome of the meetings held between the president-elect and the leadership of the NWC. The NWC called for further and better consultation with necessary stakeholders in order to assure the support of the aspirants to the National Assembly leadership positions and members of the party nationwide.”
A member of the NWC who spoke in confidence with select journalists also reinforced the resentment of the party national secretariat to the zoning arrangement sealed with Tinubu by the national caucus without their input and the prior knowledge of the Progressives Governors Forum.
He said: “The whole scenario is totally different from what it used to be. We usually zone to areas or zones and possibly allow persons interested to vie for the positions zoned to them.
“But in this case, we were merely handed over what they said has been agreed upon without any input or deliberations from us (NWC).
“So, since that is what they want, we have equally given it back to them and the public to begin to look deeper into whatever ambiguity they can find because we were deliberate and very cautious in our correspondence because we are not babies.
“It is now left for stakeholders to seek whatever intervention, interpretation and clarifications at any level.”
Why Yari, North-West are up in arms against Tinubu’s choices:
Sunday Tribune checks revealed that two-term Zamfara State governor and senator elect to represent Zamfara West, Abdul Aziz Yari, in league with certain chieftains from his North-West region have vowed to reject the zoning arrangement.
Sources close to the Yari’s camp are angry that Zamfara is being left stranded in the power sharing formular in the ruling party despite its contribution to the victory of the president-elect. The source recalled that apart from Jigawa State, it was only in Zamfara that Tinubu won the presidential election overwhelmingly losing in Kebbi, Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna and the home state of President MuhammaduBuhari, Katsina.
“There is something wrong about Tinubu’s reward system which is leaving Zamfara and Jigawa in the cold and compensating Kano and Kaduna. Go and look at the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections. APC lost Kano to Rabiu Kwankwaso’s party, the New Nigerian People’s Party and lost Kaduna to Atiku Abubakar!
“But Kano is about to produce Deputy Senate president while Kaduna has been given House of Representatives speakership with Tajudeen Abass. Don’t forget that apart from Senator Yari, Zamfara also has a candidate for the House of Representatives, in person of Honourable Aminu Sani Jaji.”
At the party national secretariat, the stormy meeting of the APC NWC is being discussed in hushed tones. A source at the meeting who spoke in confidence with Sunday Tribune revealed that the North-Central zone, incidentally the region that produced current National chairman, Senator Adamu, is also squealing against the favoured choices of Tinubu which left the zone politically stranded.
At the NWC meeting, the national vice chairman, North-Central, Hon. Mu’azu Bawa Rijau, said he was taken aback that the zone was sidelined despite its contributions to Tinubu’s victory at the election. Sunday Tribune checks revealed that the ruling party only lost in Plateau State, out of the six states in the North-Central zone.
Interestingly, the region parades three aspirants in the race for presiding officers of the National Assembly: Senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa gunning for Senate president, but who agreed to pick the slot of Deputy Senate president but was still shut out. Plateau State has two aspirants for the House of Representatives speakership position. The other two aspirants are incumbent Deputy Speaker, IdrisWase and Yusuf Gagdi, representing Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke Constituency of Plateau State.
As the opposition mounts, sympathisers of the president-elect and ordinary party faithful outside the power block now taken as the Bourdillon forces (the Lagos kitchen cabinet of Tinubu) are disturbed the reactions trailing the endorsement of Senator Akpabio and Tajudeen Abass.
A party source disclosed that the pair of Senator Akpabio and Barau Jibrin since they enjoyed the buy in of a sizeable number of Senators should have been allowed to face their rivals in an open contest. The source faulted the recourse to imposition of candidates in the name of a consensus deal.
“Tinubu is a product of a contest and he was able to win the race for APC ticket despite strident opposition from forces within Buhari’s presidency. Buhari promised internal democracy and he walked his talks on that promise.
“Even when the Northern Governors Forum unanimously adopted zoning of the presidency to the South last June, the APC NWC did not foreclose the chances of Northern candidates. The Senate president, Lawan, who was perceived as Buhari’s candidate contested and lost.
“Even the APC governors that worked for him were in the dark in his choices of presiding officers of the National Assembly.
“It is too early for Tinubu to start breathing down the neck of all tendencies in APC “.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka has, however, defended Tinubu’s anointed choices. Morka, incidentally from Delta State, the same South-South geopolitical zone as Akpabio, noted that unlike other zones, the region has not produced the President of the Senate since 1999.
He said:” I am from the South-South and I don’t see why the South-South is ineligible for consideration. After all, no Senate president has come from that region since 1999. Since this dispensation, we haven’t had that. Other regions have had some representations. South-East, for instance: five persons have held that position from the South-East.
“That does not mean that the South-East is ineligible or unfit to produce the Senate president; every region of this country can. But there is something else that we are concerned about: it’s called national interest. it’s called equity; it’s called inclusion; it’s called a sense of ownership. The party is looking at some very solid parameters and ensuring that every region gets a fair share.”
How far can Yari, G-6 go?
Meanwhile the aggrieved aspirants have vowed to pursue their aspirations despite the endorsement of Tinubu’s adopted candidates and zoning template. In the House of Representatives, for instance, the aspirants have since formed a coalition to tackle Abass for the Speakership seat.
Tagged as the G-6, the coalition includes, Wase; Aliyu Mukhta rBetara; Aminu Sani Jaji; Hassan Ali Doguwa; Sada Soli and Yusuf Gaydi. A consensus candidate from the team is expected to emerge to battle Tinubu’s choice on June 13.
The G-6 met last Wednesday with the APC National Working Committee where they vowed not to surrender to the zoning arrangement ratified by the Abdullahi Adamu leadership. Wase, who led the team summed up the feelings of his team:
“We are people who have been aspiring for the office of Speakership for the House of Representatives at the 10th National Assembly. We recall that at the meeting at the Villa, you asked us to slow down for the APC zoning arrangement. We have been reaching out to our critical stakeholders to enjoy their buy in.
Unfortunately, while we were expecting the zoning arrangement, we heard that the offices have been micro-zoned. None of us was consulted. We first read about it on the social media and only heard that a list has been announced on the television. It is most unfortunate. We feel betrayed as if our contributions aren’t recognized, as if we aren’t members of this party.
“I don’t want to believe that president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is behind this. We have worked for the party. We are here to protest and appeal to you that what has been released would not stand. We must build this party on spirit of equity and fairness and the provisions of this constitution.”
Sunday Tribune checks revealed that the APC “official candidates” notwithstanding, Yari is being goaded not to let go by APC chieftains from the North miffed by what they regarded as Tinubu’s unilateral decision.
“They are willing to talk to senators-elect from the region to vote Yari,” the source offered.
The former Zamfara governor is also said to have opened discussion with opposition parties’ senators-elect to back his aspiration. In the 109 seats of the 10th National Assembly, the APC has 59 to PDP 36, while other opposition parties parade 14 Senators elect.
Senators elected on the platform of the NNPP have vowed to reject the APC consensus candidates.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, senator-elect from Kano South Senatorial District, Sulaiman Kawu, noted that the APC was about to repeat the mistakes of the Jonathan and Buhari Presidency.
Kawu recalled the role played by Tinubu as opposition stalwart of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in the emergence of Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker of the 7th National Assembly as against the PDP preferred choice of Mulikat Akande Adeola.
He said: “In the 7th Assembly during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, you are all aware how the executive intended to stop us from exercising our constitutional right. We fought them and they tear-gassed us, at the end, the wish of the people and the constitution prevailed.
“Now there are so many challenges we face in making sure that we consolidate the gains of democracy more especially the parliament. Now the 10th Assembly is about to be inaugurated, suddenly we saw a letter directing the members of the National Assembly to abide by the decision of the National Working Committee of the APC.
“For us, as veterans in this game, for us who have suffered a lot in defending the sanctity of the National Assembly, we believe it is an insult.
“The National Assembly is an organ of government. It is not an agency of the Federal Government, and the role of a political party is to guide. But they can’t dictate the selection of the Presiding Officers in the National Assembly.
“The constitution is very clear that we should choose among ourselves irrespective of party. and we are very lucky this time, the opposition constitutes almost 48 per cent of the total population of the senators-elect while the majority party has 52 per cent.
“When you go to the House of Representatives, it is the opposition that has the majority even though it is a combination of the different political parties. We thought the president-elect and the APC, will learn from past mistake in the 7th Assembly when President Jonathan intended to dictate to us where we would go in the selection of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“We said no. We must follow the rule of law and the constitution and we must be guided by the rules of the House.
“We chose Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Nigerians are all aware. Even in the 8th National Assembly, Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu emerged presiding officers of the Senate against the intention of the APC.
“Our thinking now is that the APC and the president-elect will learn from past mistakes and do the proper thing through consultation, interface, reach out, persuasion and persuade the members of the National Assembly and all the stakeholders in arriving at that position.
“We were with him when we stopped Jonathan from installing leadership in the House of Representatives. So, ‘Baba’ don’t allow sycophants, don’t allow the so-called new cabal in Nigeria to dictate to you; we will not allow it and we will resist it,” he vowed
But how far can Senator Yari and the G-6 go in the race for Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives? Though only time has the answer, Nigerians, no doubt, will enjoy the drama and intrigues that will begin to unfold.
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