With the emergence of members elect at the recently held general elections, jostle for the leadership of the National Assembly seems to be gathering steam, CHUKWU DAVID, in this piece culled from Saturday Telegraph, examines the battle for the soul of the 10th Assembly at the upper chambers by ex-raying contenders, their chances based on Senate ranking principle and the zoning arrangements the ruling All Progressives Congress is likely to adopt.

After the conduct of the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections, there has been so much politicking and horse trading among Senators-elect and their supporters, particularly amongst those nursing ambition to occupy the leadership of the 10th Senate when it commences work in June, this year.

Traditionally, it’s not every Senator- elect that is qualified to occupy leadership positions, especially when it comes to the two presiding offices namely; the President of the Senate and his Deputy. Like in every human organization governed by rules of engagements and code of conduct, the National Assembly has certain rules and standards, which are placed as condition precedent for the emergence of its presiding officers which aspiring members must meet as basic qualifications before assuming office. In the Senate, Order 3, Rule 2 of its Standing Orders 2022 (as amended) the process for nominating and electing principal officers and other officers of the Senate, which prescribes those to be elected shall be in accordance with the ranking of members.

For clarity, ranking is determined by the following order: (i) Senators returning based on number of times re-elected; (ii) Senators who had been members of the House of Representatives, (iii) Senators elected as Senators for the first time. Going by these considerations, senators-elect who have served in the House of Representatives and now have been elected to the Red Chambers, and those who are re-elected back to the Senate are all recognised as ranking members and are therefore, qualified to contest for posts as presiding officers.

In the forthcoming 10th Senate, some of the contenders for the President of the Senate include a former Governor of Abia State and current Chief Whip, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. Other ranking Senators who are also jostling for the office are Senators Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North); Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), Godswill Akpabio (APC, Akwa-Ibom North West), Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo West), Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), who lately indicated interest to run for the office of the President of the Senate.

Similarly, the incumbent President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan is also said to be eyeing a return though he is yet to make public his interest. However, those close to him say he might likely throw his hat into the ring when the chips are down. Also in the race is a former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari (APC, Zamfara West), who has also declared his intention. Two non-ranking members-elect, outgoing Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi (APC, Ebonyi South), and a former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), have also joined the race with passionate pleas to convince the Senate, to amend its laws to accommodate their ambition, arguing that they are also suitable materials for the job.

ORJI UZOR KALU

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who won the Abia North Senatorial District seat for a second term is said to be the preferred choice. By ranking and by zoning, he is eminently qualified to occupy the seat. His supporters argue that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s emergence as president-elect has opened the window for the South-East to produce the President of the Senate as it was done during the Fourth and Fifth Assemblies under Olusegun Obasanjo as President. The position of most political analysts is that, Tinubu hails from South-West and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, is from the North-East, for equity and justice to reign, the APC should cede the position to the South-East to give the region a sense of belonging in the coming regime. A number of factors are working for Kalu. He is seen as a trusted party man. Those who hold this view point to the way he has defended the interest of the APC in the South-East. He also supported the party’s same faith presidential ticket, not minding opposition raised against it by the leadership of the Christian faith and the pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo. It is also believed that Kalu has the legislative and executive experience coming with him. 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 during which time he brought a lot of human cum infrastructural developments to the state. The APC’s distribution of leadership positions in the National Assembly since 2015 has not gone down well with the various tendencies in the APC and stakeholders have advised that all the ruling party needs to do this time 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 at that time. Apart from campaigns by his supporters across ethno-religious divides, Kalu, has publicly declared his intention, saying that it is his turn to occupy the exalted office. He has also rejected the idea of a Muslim Senate President, arguing that since Nigeria is a secular State, it would not be right for persons of the same religious faith to occupy the first three highest political offices in the country.

GODSWILL AKPABIO

Godswill Akpabio is a ranking member who is also striving to occupy the plum seat. After serving out his second term as Governor of Akwa Ibom State in 2015, he joined the Senate in the same year, on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In that dispensation, the Senate, under Senator Bukola Saraki relaxed its ranking principle, which made it possible for Akpabio to be nominated for the position of the Senate Minority Leader by the South-South Caucus of the party, which was ratified by the Caucus of the PDP prompting his announcement by Saraki as Minority Leader on 28 July 2015. Although the leadership of the APC has not officially announced its zoning arrangement for the leadership of the National Assembly, Saturday Telegraph learnt from party insiders, that leadership of the APC is considering allocating the number three office to the South East. If this happens, it means that Akpabio will be shut out of the race.

JIBRIN BARAU

Senator Jibrin Barau, is a cognate member of the National Assembly, having served in the House of Representatives and now serving in the Senate. Barau is a third-term Senator who has shown capacity by winning the Kano North Senatorial seat three consecutive times. He is the current Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. Therefore, by experience, he is well qualified but his aspiration might be dealt a serious blow by zoning that may not favour him since the party is already considering zoning the position to the South East for a balance of power. Barau at a press briefing recently in Abuja, declared his intention, insisting that he is the most qualified amongst other prospective contenders. He also stressed that ethno-religious sentiments should be jettisoned in choosing the person that would occupy the office. He pointed out that in the previous Assembly David Mark was the President of the Senate while Ike Ekweremadu was his Deputy, noting that nobody raised eyebrows about the two presiding officers being of the same faith.

OSITA IZUNASO

Another serious contender is Osita Izunaso, who was elected to represent Imo West Senatorial District. He is a ranking member having served in the House of Representatives and the Red Chambers previously. Therefore, by ranking, he is eminently qualified , however, feelers have it that both the national leadership of the APC and most Senators-elect are not favourably disposed to letting him into the exalted office. Meanwhile, Izunaso has gone to visit President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, where he called for the zoning of the Senate Presidency to the South-East, insisting that doing so will ensure fairness and equity. He declared that no Senator on the platform of the APC in South-East and South-South ranks higher than him.

SANI MUSA

Senator Sani Musa who is representing Niger-East is another contender, although he has openly declared his intention, he however said that he would go for the Deputy President of the Senate position on religious consideration. According to him, he is ready to do so if the leadership of the APC wishes to address the agitations provoked by the same faith presidential arrangement to zone the office away from his reach. That notwithstanding, numerous civil society groups and individual politicians have been pushing for his emergence as the 10th Senate President.

LAWAN AND NDUME

It’s true that the incumbent, Ahmad Lawan and Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, are two of the longest serving members of the National Assembly, their aspirations may be hampered by the fact that they are both from the North East, which is the region of the Vice President-elect. This is even so since the leadership positions are limited and the APC would want to be seen as fair and equitable to avoid ethno-religious agitations after swearing in of the new administration.

OSHIOMHOLE AND UMAHI

For Adams Oshiomhole and David Umahi, they are naturally encumbered by the ranking principle, which might not be jettisoned at this time because there won’t be any need for such. Although they believe that they might be able to get the Senate to bend the ranking rule for them, leading to their persistent push, it’s not certain if the ranking members will allow that to happen. In choosing the presiding officers of the Senate, the final decision is within the jurisdiction of the 109 Senators elected across the country. All the pre-inauguration horse trading notwithstanding, the elected lawmakers have the final say on the floor of the Senate, on who should be the head of the 10th National Assembly. (New Telegraph)

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