• South-East may lose out in leadership bid
• Northern senators should step down, says party’s vice chairman
Aspirants hoping to occupy leadership positions in the two chambers of the National Assembly have intensified lobbying their colleagues and other stakeholders, including the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Progressive Governors’ Forum even as Wednesday’s planned meeting of the ruling party’s National Working Committee is expected to seal their fate.
It was gathered that the APC and the PGF might eventually agree to zone the Senate presidency to either the South-East or the South-South.
While the body language and nocturnal meetings held by the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, may have suggested that a former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, is his anointed candidate, some members of the NWC prefer an aspirant from the South-East for the sake of equity.
The position of the NWC is shared by the Conference of the APC Local Government Party Chairmen of Nigeria, which suggested that the Senate presidency be zoned to the South-East geographical zone in the interest of fairness and national cohesion.
The National Chairman of the forum, Matthew Msughter, argued that it took the stance after consulting with critical stakeholders in the overall interest of the party and the country.
He stated, “As a forum of grassroots politicians who have always been with the people, we have widely consulted and have come to the realisation that the general wishes of Nigerians are that leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly should be zoned and shared among the geopolitical zones in the country.
“Standing on the wishes of the people, who we represent, we hereby passionately appeal to the leadership of our great party, the All Progressives Congress; that is, the National Working Committee, National Executive Committee, national caucus, as well as critical stakeholders of our great party, in the interest of equity, justice, fairness, unity and inclusiveness, to share and zone leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly as follows; Senate President, South-East; Deputy Senate President, North-Central; Speaker of the House of Representatives, North-West; and Deputy Speaker, South-South.”
While Akpabio seems to be the only beacon from the South-South, there are at least three aspirants jostling for the Senate presidency from the South-East.
They are the senator-elect representing Imo West, Osita Izunaso, Orji Kalu (Abia North) and Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North).
Feelers from the APC indicated that quite a number of governors and lawmakers were not in support of Kalu’s candidacy.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, on the other hand, may have trouble deciding who to opt for among Izunaso and Ndubueze, his two trusted allies.
Other aspirants jostling for the number one office in the Red chamber include a former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau; Sani Musa (Niger East) and the incumbent Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North).
Reports said the APC governors were divided over the zoning arrangement for the Senate president.
A source in the camp of the PGF told one of our correspondents, “Some northern governors are not in support of the planned zoning and believe that the race should be thrown open just as the APC did in the build-up to the presidential primary that produced Tinubu.
“In fact, they contend that if that option cannot be explored, the pendulum should be allowed to swing in favour of the North-West. They hinged their conviction on the fact that it was actually the bulk of votes from the region that gave Tinubu victory.”
Meanwhile, Kalu has denied reports of him joining forces with the Peoples Democratic Party, describing them as false.
“I am the best among all the other candidates. I have the capacity to unite Nigeria and I am the best to work with our president-elect for the best interest of Nigeria,” Kalu said.
NWC members react
However, the National Vice Chairman of the APC for the North-West, Malam Salihu Lukman, called on northern senators to step down from the race.
The Kaduna politician stated that it would be unfortunate to have Yari, Barau, Musa or any other northern Muslim lawmaker emerge as the next Senate president at a time the APC was seeking to balance the Muslim-Muslim ticket that produced Tinubu and the Vice-President-elect, Kashim Shettima.
A fellow NWC member and National Vice Chairman, South-East, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, however expressed reservation about the call, saying it did not represent the stance of the party’s leadership.
Arodiogbu stated that much as Lukman’s demand favoured the South-East, it was not enough to unilaterally take such a decision without recourse to the collective position of the party.
The Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Chidi Duru, said, “As far as we know, my idea is for the South-East and the South-South to produce a Senate president for the country. And for our party and those who mean well for Nigeria, we will have to run an inclusive government that attends to the needs of all strata of society and sensibilities of the country.
“The leadership of the National Assembly as had been done before now will naturally come back to the South. And it will be opened to either of the South-South or the South-East to fill the position. That is the major currency and view within the rank and file of the APC leaders.”
Indications have emerged that the South-East may not have a candidate among the presiding officers of the federal parliament.
Top sources in the APC told one of our correspondents that though the zone had qualified members-elect aspiring for various positions in the Senate and the House of Representatives, the ruling party was considering the votes it got from the zones in the just concluded general elections.
Those who spoke to one of our correspondents on Saturday were among those who met with Tinubu at his temporal Defence House residence last week.
Tinubu is from Lagos in the South-West, while Shettima is from Borno State in the North-East.
The APC is now left to consider National Assembly leadership positions for the remaining zones – North-West, North-Central, South-South and South-East – as well as religious balance in its much-awaited leadership zoning plan.
So far, aspirants for various leadership positions have emerged from the six geopolitical zones.
Aspirants for the office of the Speaker in the 10th Assembly, some of whom have yet to officially declare their ambitions, are now over 10. They are seeking to succeed the incumbent Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, who has also been re-elected for a sixth term.
The contenders include the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase; embattled Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; Chairman, House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi; Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Aliyu Betara; Chairman, House Committee on Science Research Institutes, Olaide Akinremi; Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu; and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport, Tajudeen Abbas.
Others are the Chairman, House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Abdulraheem Olawuyi; Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli; Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Makki Yalleman; Chairman, House Committee on PWDs, Miriam Onuoha; and Sani Jaji.
Wase and Gagdi are from Plateau in the North-Central geopolitical zone; Ado-Doguwa, Kano, North-West; Betara, Borno, North-East; Akinremi, Oyo, South-West; Kalu, Abia, South-East; Yalleman, Jigawa, North-West; Jaji, Zamfara, North-West; Soli, Katsina, North-West; Olawuyi, Kwara, North-Central; Abbas, Kaduna, North-West; and Onuoha, Imo, South-East.
Those bidding for the post of Deputy Speaker are Francis Waive (Delta, South-South) and Chinedu Ogah (Ebonyi, South-East).
An attendee at one of the meetings, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity as the party’s hierarchy is still consulting on the zoning plan, noted that though the South-East might not produce a presiding officer in the next Assembly, lawmakers from the zone would be made majority leader or minority Leader in either of the chambers.
Another source at the meeting, who also sought to be anonymous, stated, “The positions in the National Assembly are six each in the Senate and the House. In the House, you have the speaker, deputy speaker, majority leader and minority leader, deputy majority and deputy minority. Those positions are political and there is no way each zone will not go home with something.”
However, Kalu warned the APC against taking decisions that might cause a crisis and affect national growth. The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity urged the ruling party to consider the current mood of the nation.
Kalu stated, “The current mood of the nation has all of the above in the expectation basket of the electorate, and the political party must put this into consideration while deciding to avoid an internal protest capable of distorting the equation for national growth.
“Finally, the party should carry this first all important responsibility without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, putting the nation first before competing sentiments.”
Meanwhile, one of the leading speakership aspirants, Gagdi, has met with members-elect on the platform of the Labour Party. The opposition party has 35 newly elected members in the 10th House.
The meeting, which was held in Abuja on Friday night, had a majority of the LP members-elect in attendance.
Sources close to Gagdi said the meeting was a follow-up to the lawmaker’s earlier parley with leaders of the LP at national and state levels.
Some aspirants for the Senate presidency have started stepping down for others.
According to sources, the APC is likely to release the zoning formula for the National Assembly leadership this week.
The party had on many occasions promised to release the zoning formula for the National Assembly leadership.
As events continue to unfold in preparation for the emergence of the leadership, some senators have begun to step down to seek alternative positions.
One of them, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East) had on Friday declared for the position of Deputy Senate President.
Musa and his colleagues from the North-Central geopolitical zone also stated that they would not settle for anything lesser than the position of the Deputy Senate President.
The senator representing Kano North, Jibrin Barau, is also said to have been accepted to be the Deputy Senate President.
Similarly, the senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, is not too keen on the Senate presidency.
He had continually stated that he would only pursue the position intently after the party releases the zoning formula.
Lawan, who has been telling the party to leave the Senate presidency open, has yet to openly declare his candidacy.
However, some support groups have been calling for continuity in the leadership of the Senate.
‘Consider federal character’
Meanwhile, some concerned members of the APC on Saturday called on National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the National Working Committee of the party to consider federal character and competence before zoning the principal offices of the 10th National Assembly.
This is even as they threw their weight behind Akpabio and Barau as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.
The development comes two days after the president-elect met with APC governors and advised them to work with the party’s leadership and lawmakers to elect principal officers of the National Assembly.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday, the Convener of the Concerned APC Members Forum, Okpokwu Ogenyi, expressed concerns that having come this far after the party’s victory in the general elections, it was only fair for it to play by the rule of equity and federal character.
He said, “As believers in the Nigerian project, our appeal to the party is to consider federal character in the zoning of the 10th Senate leadership bearing in mind competence and credibility with an understanding that Nigeria is a secular state with multiple faiths and six geopolitical zones.
“The president-elect needs highly competent senators with vast knowledge of legislative business to complement him in delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians. We are aware that zoning is not done in a vacuum.”
SDP seeks non-interference
The Social Democratic Party has called for non-interference in the National Assembly leadership selection process, saying it is within the purview of the legislature to determine its rules and processes and anything that is imposed on the members will not augur well.
The SDP advised the National Assembly to be guided by true national interest, the credibility of the leadership that would emerge, and the capacity to deliver.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with the Sunday PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the SDP, Rufus Aiyenigba, stated, “It is within the purview of the National Assembly to determine what they want. They have their processes and they have their rules, but we always say they should be guided by true national interest, trying to impose anything on them from outside may not augur well, but we can guide them.
“What is important is the credibility of the leadership that will emerge and the capacity to deliver and to protect the true national interest of Nigeria; religion and zoning are not issues that matter.”
