10th NASS: Race For Senate Presidency Begins

It promises to be an interesting contest for the leadership of both houses of the 10th National Assembly, particularly the Senate, which would be inaugurated in June as some power blocs within the All Progressives Congress (APC) are already positioning their favourites.

There are indications that the jostle for the leadership of both houses of the National Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives – has commenced after the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections that saw the emergence of the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as President-elect. So far, seven political parties have won seats in the 10th Senate that would be inaugurated in June. Out of the 90 seats declared by the Independent National Electoral commission as at last week, the ruling APC won 50, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had 28.

Labour Party (LP) secured six, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) secured two seats each. The Young Progressive Party (YPP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have so far produced one senator each. The Red Chamber has 109 seats – three senators from each of the 36 states plus one for the Federal Capital territory.

The party with a simple majority produces its presiding officers – President of the Senate and Deputy Senate President. As it stands, the APC is set to retain the two positions but this development has triggered alignment and re-alignment of political forces within the ruling party ahead of the inauguration of the upper legislative chamber. While, the national leadership of the APC has not made any pronouncement on which of the geopolitical zones will produce the next President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the ruling party is expected to adopt an equitable power sharing formula to avoid the 2015 experience that ruptured its pre-inauguration arrangement of the 8th National Assembly.

Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara had emerged as president and speaker of the 8th Senate and House of Representatives, respectively against Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, following an alleged power deal they struck with their colleagues elected on the platform of the PDP. The duo were former members of the PDP until they joined the APC in 2013. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State emerged unopposed through the support of about 60 senators, who were present during the inauguration, while Dogara polled 182 votes against Gbajabiamila’s 174.

Ironically, Lawan and other 50 APC senators were at the International Conference Centre (ICC), where they were billed to hold a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, when the election took place in the Red Chamber. The twist not only humbled the then leadership of the ruling party, it offered the opposition PDP the opportunity to clinch the position of Deputy Senate President through Senator Ike Ekweremadu. Against this backdrop, the APC initially threatened sanctions against the “rebels” but later made a detour. The issue, however, got to a head, when Saraki announced names of principal officers of the Senate on June 25. The names were different from those submitted by the leadership of the party. Those who emerged had earlier won the mock elections conducted by the zonal caucuses of the party. They include Ndume (Majority Leader), Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Deputy Senate Leader) and Alimikhena (Deputy Chief Whip).

Expectedly, the Lawan group, which was backed by the leadership of the party, rejected the list. A similar attempt to adopt the Saraki model in the House of Representatives resulted to a free-for-all between members of the two factions in the chamber. The cold war, which ensued afterwards, cut short the euphoria that ushered in the APC government at that time and led to a frosty relationship between the executive and the 8th NASS.

The power play got to a height, when Saraki, Dogara and several other legislators elected on the platform of the APC defected to the PDP. The bitter lessons of the 8th National Assembly informed why the party did not leave anything to chance in 2019.

The then Adams Oshiomhole led National Working Committee (NWC) ensured that Lawan and Gbajabiamila emerged as President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives in line with the party’s zoning arrangement for both positions. But as Nigerians await the APC’s position on the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, names have started dropping, particularly for the position of President of the Senate. Among those already being positioned is the incumbent Chief Whip of the Red Chamber, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

The former governor of Abia State, who won the Abia North Senatorial District seat for a second term is said to be the preferred choice for the position of President of the Senate. Those rooting for Kalu are of the view that Tinubu’s emergence has opened the window for the South-East to produce the President of the Senate as witnessed between 1999 and 2007 during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The President-elect hails from the South-West, while the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, is from the North-East.

The belief is that APC should cede the position of President of the Senate to the South-East in order to give the zone a sense of belonging in the coming Tinubu administration. Besides being a loyal party man given the way he has stoutly defended the interest of the APC in the South-East, it is also believed that Kalu has the required legislative and executive experience to pilot the affairs of the Senate. As a member of the House of Representatives between 1992 and 1993, he moved the famous Dual- Citizenship Rights Bill. He was elected the governor of Abia State in 1999 and his achievements astounded even his most vitriolic critics.

Then Obasanjo, during a visit to state, described Kalu as “Action Governor.” In 2007, Kalu contested for president on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA), which he founded, but came third. However, the party went ahead to win the governorship position in two out of the five states in the South-East – Abia and Imo.

It is believed that the former Abia State governor will leverage on the goodwill he enjoys across all sections of Nigeria if he emerge as president of the 10th Senate. A man of many parts, Kalu’s rise to national and international limelight was quite meteoric, making him one of the most visible businessmen, politician and philanthropist in present day Nigeria. A thoroughbred man in commerce, industry and administration, he became Chairman of Borno Water Board at a tender age of 25.

He also served as Chairman of Imo State Marketing and Supply Agency, and Chairman of Cooperative and Commerce Bank Ltd in 1987 at the age of 27, making him the youngest person till date to assume such an elevated position in Nigeria. No doubt, the APC’s distribution of leadership positions in the National Assembly since the inception of its administration in 2015 has not gone down well with the various tendencies in the party, stakeholders have advised that all the ruling party needs to do ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Senate, is to bring the various interest groups on the same page as Nigerians cannot afford to go through the experience of 8th National Assembly, which many believe, was responsible for the executive-legislative rift that impeded governance.

(New Telegraph)