…Lawan plots return as Wase, Lar, Doguwa eye speakership
… All eyes on party leadership ahead zoning
By Abdul lateef Bamgbose
Barring any unforeseen circumstance, the 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, two days after the lifespan of the current 9th National Assembly would have expired on Sunday, June 11.
Recall that the current National Assembly was inaugurated on June 11, 2019. Its lifespan will terminate on June 11, 2023, which is Sunday, a non-working day while the next day June 12 is a public holiday being Democracy Day.
Members of the 10th National Assembly – senators-elect and members-elect received their Certificates of Return on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 7 and 8 respectively, having been declared winners in the February 25 National Assembly elections.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ,INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had earlier during a meeting with the Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioners ,RECs, ahead of the March 11 Governorship/State Assembly elections, noted that in terms of party representation, the next 10th National Assembly is the most diverse since 1999 in terms spread of parties.
So far, in the Senate, the ruling All Progressives Congress ,APC, won 57 seats while the major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, garnered 29 seats.
Others include All Progressives Grand Alliance ,APGA,1; Labour Party ,LP, – 6; New Nigeria People’s Party ,NNPP, – 2; Social Democratic Party ,SDP, – 2, and Young Progressive Party ,YPP, – 1.
In the House of Representatives, APC won 162 seats; PDP – 102; APGA – 4; LP – 34; NNPP – 18; SDP 2; YPP – 1, and African Democratic Congress ,ADC, – 2.
Given the above configuration, the elections of presiding officers in both chambers of the 10th National Assembly promise to be interesting.
Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, 2023, some lawmakers-elect have begun lobbying for the presidency of the Senate and Speakership of the House of Representatives.
Apart from the Senate presidency and House Speakership, other positions that will be filled include that of the Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
AljazirahNigeria checks showed that lobbying for the presiding offices had begun in earnest with the ruling party and Senators-elect and Members-elect on the platform of APC working to prevent a repeat of the 2015 experience where Senator Bukola Saraki was elected as the Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara elected as Speaker of the House against the choices or directive of the ruling party.
Though the ruling APC, which will surely enjoy the majority status in both chambers of the 10th National Assembly was yet to come out with any zoning or power sharing formula for the next government under the Presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some of its lawmakers-elects were already involved in behind-the-scene consultations in order to clinch the top positions of the National Assembly on June 13.
Those who have shown interest in being President of the 10th Senate include Senator-elect Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), Senator-elect Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West), Senator-elect Ali Ndume (Borno South), and Senator-elect Jibrin Barau (Kano North).
While Kalu, Ndume and Barau are current members of the 9th Senate, Akpabio was a member of the 8th Senate, who is staging a comeback to the Red Chamber.
However, AljazirahNigeria reliably gathered that the current Senate President, Ahmed Lawan (APC, Yobe North) might want to retain his position if supported by majority of Senators. But only time will tell.
Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, the current Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, a protégé of the President-elect Bola Tinubu, might also want to try his luck to retain his position in the next Assembly. He will ride on the influence of a President Tinubu to do that when the time comes.
Before that happens, Gbajabiamila will have formidable opponents to contend with in Hon. Ado Doguwa from Kano State and Hon. Aliyu Betara from Borno State, both current members of the House and veteran lawmakers.
But the process by which the next senate president will emerge remains hazy.
While these proclivities are likely to clash as the process intensifies, pundits are mindful of how issues of equity and justice as ensconced in zoning fits into the quest for a vibrant, experienced and competent-led legislature considering the issues facing the country.
Among the Senators who have so far indicated interests Senator Barau Jibrin is the one that has the highest ranking and most qualified, as he is going to be a fourth termer in the National Assembly. The next to Barau is Orji Kalu who will be a third termer, currently the Chief whip of the Senate ; While Senator Godswill Akpabio is going to be a second term Senator.
With the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the South West, the Vice President-elect, Shettima from the North-East, Borno to be precise, Senator Barau told Senate Correspondents last week that he is the most qualified for the office of the president of the senate ” We all know the strategic position of the North-West, nay, Kano, in Nigeria’s political landscape. So, it is only fair and wise that the APC leadership supports a Senate Presidency candidate from that region for the sake of equity and justice”
Just recently, AljazirahNigeria gathered that Senator Jibrin hosted over 70 senators-elect, in an effort to allow Senators elect to create the needed bond amongst themselves ahead of the inauguration of the 10th parliament that will usher the new leadership of the upper chamber. Senator Jibrin has also deployed his foot soldiers to meet key stakeholders, including high ranking federal lawmakers. The over 70 senators-elect who attended the luncheon held at a hotel in Abuja, recently, cut across different political parties.
He is also currently the chairman senate committee on Appropriations, making him the first Legislator in Nigeria history to have served at different times as Chairman House of Representatives committee on appropriations and the Senate committee on Appropriations.
But other contenders are not relenting, Senator Orji believes he has the advantage of legislative experience having served as chief whip in 9th Senate. He also hopes that the agitation for zoning the seat to the South East will favor him.
While Oshiomhole and Umahi are first timers to the Senate which puts them in an awkward situation so far, Akpabio and Yari, have had federal legislative experience. Akpabio emerged Senate minority leader as a first timer in the upper legislative chamber on the platform of his former party PDP. But whether he can pull off emerging Senate president this time around in the APC platform will be interesting to see.
Yari served in the House of Representatives in 2007 which gives him an edge compared to Umahi and Oshiomhole.
Although expectations are high that the party leadership may zone the office of the number three citizen, the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has recently dismissed reports of any zoning arrangements so far.
For what it’s worth, the composition of the emerging Senate cannot be dismissed in light of how the opposition parties might determine the leadership of the upper chamber.
From the list of winners, APC has won 54 seats so far, while the Peoples Democratic Party has 27 seats.Others are Labour Party with six seats, New Nigeria Peoples Party ,NNPP, two seats, Social Democratic Party ,SDP, two seats, while the Young Progressives Party ,YPP, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance ,APGA, have one seat each.
Aspiring Senate presidents would seek to secure the support of none APC lawmakers. Perhaps this is where the more experienced lawmakers would have an edge.
