Lawmakers for the 10th National Assembly will elect their presiding officers on Tuesday after the official proclamation by President Bola Tinubu. TAIWO AMODU examines the strength of the contenders for the exalted seat of Senate President ahead of the election.
On Tuesday, a new set of presiding officers is expected to emerge to run both chambers of the National Assembly. The election of Senate President and Deputy Senate President promises to be tough as it is a test of will among the power blocks in the ruling party.
Since the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) ratified the zoning template presented to it by the National Caucus, it has courted the anger of other aspirants in the race.
The APC NWC had last month unveiled a zoning template giving the South-South the office of Senate President and the North-West the slot of Deputy Senate President.
The party also micro-zoned the office to its favoured candidates: former Akwa-Ibom State governor and Senator-elect, Akwa-Ibom West, Godswill Akpabio has the ticket of Senate President dropped on his lap while the chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation and Senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin, was pronounced as Akpabio’s deputy.
Other aspirants have since been raising their voices against the zoning template and the announcement of anointed choices. To senators-elect, it was an affront on the autonomy of the legislature for the APC national secretariat to impose its choices on the parliament.
Apart from Senator Akpabio, others in the race include a former Zamfara State governor and Senator-elect, Zamfara West, Abdul Aziz Yari; Senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa; Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu and former National Organising Secretary of the APC and Senator-elect, Imo West, Osita Izunaso.
A two-horse race?
Sunday Tribune investigation revealed that Tuesday election is between the candidate anointed by the Presidency, Godswill Akpabio and another contender, Abdul Aziz Yari.
In the last two weeks, there have been discussions amongst the aggrieved aspirants to form a coalition against Akpabio.
Checks revealed that the aggrieved are mulling an arrangement to jointly pronounce former Zamfara State governor as aspirant for the office and Kalu as Deputy Senate President.
Speaking with journalists penultimate week during his visit to the national secretariat of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Yari dropped the hint as he disclosed that all the aggrieved aspirants are working together.
Also speaking last weekend with journalists, another aspirant, Senator Izunaso confirmed the development. “We are talking to Senator Abdul Aziz Yari. We are all consulting. We are talking to others who are also contesting the elections,” he said.
Godswill Akpabio:
The former Akwa-Ibom state governor is the anointed choice of President Tinubu. During the week, the Imo State governor and chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, told journalists that the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs is the adopted candidate of the APC Governors.
Akpabio during a recent visit to Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to seek his support, declared that he already has 69 senators as members of his Stability Group while the number is still swelling.
He said:”Today, we are about 69 in number and it is still growing. We believe that by the time we get to June, we should expect this group to rise to about 85 to 86. All I know is that we are going to win.
“I want to assure, sir that the people you see seated here are those shunning dollars and shunning pounds and shunning naira. The Senate is composed of men and women of integrity.
“We will not allow Nigeria to be bought. If leadership in the country goes to the highest bidder, I don’t think those like the late President Umar Yar’Adua would have ruled Nigeria. Even the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, was not even available, I think he was somewhere else, I think Yola, when he became president.”
Akpabio also raised the alarm that one of the aspirants has been using money to seek support of his colleagues ahead of June 13 date.
“It is not a function of money. We have seen money politics play out, even though we have not seen it play out in the 10th Senate yet. As a prelude to the inauguration, we have seen what is going on. We condemn it and we believe that integrity should come to play,” he said.
Yari and the North’s support
Former Zamfara state governor has remained adamant that he will run the race to a logical conclusion, despite persuasions and subtle threats.
The Senator-elect for Zamfara West believes that the North is being offered the short end of the stick in the Tinubu Presidency, despite its support for him in the last presidential election.
He has also argued that the zoning template was in breach of the country’s 1999 Constitution and violates the Federal Character Principle enshrined in same document.
He said: “I am a loyal party man. Nobody has told me that any position has been zoned to anywhere as far as the 10th National Assembly is concerned.
“The position of Senate President is first among equals among the 109 senators. Any senator-elect who wants to occupy the position must seek the support of others which I am doing.
“It is a hire and fire arrangement. I want them to hire me as Senate President of the 10th Senate on the day of inauguration. Many of those approached by me have given their support and I won’t disappoint them.
“My becoming Senate President on the day of inauguration lies with a decision that will be made by 108 other senators that day and nothing else,” he said.
Checks by Sunday Tribune revealed that the narrative that the North is about to be marginalised is resonating well among the senators from the region. He has also faulted the argument that the Presidency is disposed to a Christian as Senate President to create religious balancing.
He further submitted that an arrangement which would ensure that all the heads of arms of government will be from the Southern part of the country was skewed against the North.
He said: “I am particularly talking about the APC, if they decide to zone [Senate leadership positions], we ask them a question, on what do you base the zoning? Have you taken the federal character into cognizance, where the President, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Assembly chairman, the three arms of government, are in one place?
“The current Chief Justice of Nigeria is from Oyo State; President BolaTinubu is from Lagos State, and Akpabio is from Akwa Ibom State at the same time. While the next Chief Justice of the Federation [Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun] is also going to be from the South-West.
“So, have you ever seen, let’s say since 1960, whether this kind of thing has happened during the Shagari era, coming to Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan? It only happened during Buhari’s time slightly before CJN Onnoghen took over the Judiciary for some time.
“Now it happens that [with APC zoning arrangement], all the three arms of government are in the Southern part of the country. How could that be fair to Northern Nigeria?” Yari queried.
The former Zamfara State governor is banking on the support of lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party, the New Nigerian People’s Party, Labour Party to supplant the Akpabio- Barau ticket.
Yari has visited the national secretariats of the opposition parties to seek their blessing for his aspiration.
Checks by Sunday Tribune revealed that apart from the fact that there is discontent within the rank of APC senators over micro-zoning of the offices to favoured choices, the party lacks the number to push its agenda through seamlessly .
The list of senators to vote on Tuesday is revealing: the APC has 59 lawmakers as against PDP’s 36, while the other opposition party has 14.
Senator-elect, Kano North, Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, while speaking with journalists during the week declared that the opposition party would not support the Akpabio- Barau ticket for leadership of the Senate.
Sumalia, an ardent supporter of Senator Yari, told newsmen that the APC has no comfortable majority to guarantee its victory.
He said “This 10th National Assembly is entirely different from the previous Assembly. The margin between the ruling party and the minority parties in the Senate is 52 per cent to 48 per cent of the minorities. The minority is 50 while the ruling party has 59. When you go to the House the minority parties are 183 and the majority 177.
“What I am saying is that if you have a clear majority you can do zoning, select your candidates without consultation but in a situation like this where you don’t have the majority and there are so many interests in Nigeria now.
“Some are there to ask for fiscal federalism, some are there to promote true federalism, some are there to ask for State police and so many other agitations.
“The best way is to allow the members of the National Assembly to decide who will be their Speaker or the President of the Senate then at the end the President as a politician will invite the leadership and work with them.
“Let us meet on the 13th of June 2023 in the chamber, we will tell Nigerians who we are. By God’s grace on 13th June, the new Senate President of the 10th Senate is Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari from Zamfara State,” he said.
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