Members of minority parties in the two chambers of the National Assembly have begun moves to fill the remaining principal offices in the Senate and House of Representatives following Tuesday’s emergence of the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Speaker.

Members of the minority caucus, who are more in number than those in the ruling APC, are drawn from seven opposition parties.

The parties are the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, New Nigerian People’s Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Social Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress and the Youth Progressive Party.

In the Red Chamber, the ruling All Progressives Congress has 59 senators; PDP, 36, LP, eight; SDP, two; NNPP, two; YPP, one; and APGA, one.

The PDP has 117 members in the House of Representatives; LP, 35; NNPP, 19; APGA, five; SDP, two; ADC, two; and the YPP, one, totalling 181 opposition members. Those in the APC are 178.

A member-elect on the platform of the PDP from Taraba State, Ismaila Maihanci, died on April 22, 2023, to make up the 360^th member of the House.

The remaining principal officers for the majority caucus are the Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Senate Whip and Senate Minority Whip.

For the minority caucus, there are the Senate Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Senate Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

In the House of Representatives, the available positions for the party with majority members are Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Whip and Deputy Majority Whip, while for the opposition parties, there are Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

Although the list of principal officers will come from the political parties, the presiding officers cannot be totally excluded from the selection process.

Two major camps had emerged among senators in the course of the leadership tussle. Those in the Stability Group supported the Godswill Akpabio/Jibrin Barau ticket for the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, while those in the Democrats Group backed the Abdulaziz Yari and Orji Kalu ticket.

Saturday PUNCH was reliably informed that Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central) was gunning for the position of Senate Leader.

A source informed one of our correspondents that the Senate Leader for the majority caucus would likely be zoned to the South-West.

Bamidele, who was the Deputy Director-General of the Akpabio/Barau ticket, was said to want the position of the Senate Leader as one of the ranking lawmakers from the South-West.

The source noted that Senator Omotayo Buhari (APC Oyo North) was also aiming for the Senate Leader in the Yari team.

The source stated, “Senators Opeyemi Bamidele and Buhari have both been eyeing the Senate Leader but now that it Senator Akpabio won the Senate President’s seat, Bamidele will likely get it.

“But one cannot tell, because the Senate President from his comments seems like he is willing to integrate as many from the other group into his team. But Bamidele has a better chance, especially because of Buhari’s alliance against the party’s choice.”

Meanwhile, in the minority caucus, Senator Francis Fadahunsi (PDP, Osun East) is said to be at the forefront for the position of the Senate Minority leader. Senators Abdul Ningi and Adamu Aliero are also said to be major contenders for the seat.

Fadahunsi stated that if the position was zoned to the South-West, he was eminently qualified for it, adding that the South-East also stood a chance, but the PDP got more votes in Osun State during the last general elections, which would give him an edge as a ranking senator.

He said, “Yes, I am interested in the position of the Senate Leader. If the position is zoned to the South-West, then I am eminently qualified for the position.

“I am a major and experienced lawmaker in the South-West PDP. The South-East zone can also be considered, having lost out of the presiding officers, but the party didn’t even get enough votes there.”

Ningi said the choice of being the Minority Leader was beyond him, but he was willing to accept the leadership position if the caucus nominated him.

“I am not vying for anything, but if I am nominated as either the Senate Leader or whatever position, who am I not to accept it?” he said.

Ningi, who was the Senate Deputy Minority Leader in the 9^th Assembly, also applauded Akpabio for having started on a good note, adding that he was ready to work with him.

He said, “I am happy he has started on a very clean slate. I can see that he is ready for this job and we have assured him that once he accords us our respect, we are going to give him our full loyalty.

“Because he is a ranking senator, he understands that on behalf of the people of this country over the years things have not been done so well that time will give us another opportunity to redo what we have not been able to do in the last couple of years.”

Aspirants lobby LP, NNPP

Meanwhile, Oke and Salam have indicated their readiness to work with non-PDP members in the minority caucus.

In a chat with one of our correspondents, Oke was asked, “Is there a possibility of other minority parties taking some seats in the minority caucus leadership?” Responding, he said, “Yes, we will share the four minority leadership (positions) among the minority parties – the PDP, LP and NNPP.

“Aside from the party zoning positions after our leaders in the NWC and the governors may have decided, it is imperative that we talk and lobby among ourselves. No leader can impose himself on his colleagues.”

Similarly, Salam said, “All of us in the minority parties are talking on this issue of leadership. The leadership of each political party will also have some form of dialogue and interactions on how we will eventually form the leadership of the minority caucus.”

Chinda’s alleged endorsement

A crisis is brewing among opposition members of the House of Representatives as the minority caucus shops for its leaders.

Aspirants had emerged from across the regions, zones and parties for the positions of Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

However, shortly after the inauguration of the 10^th National Assembly on Tuesday, some prominent members of the PDP caucus met over the minority caucus leadership.

It was at the meeting that Kingsley Chinda (PDP Rivers) was reportedly picked as the Minority Leader.

When contacted, another aspirant for the position, Bamidele Salam (PDP Osun) denied knowledge of the meeting, challenging those who selected Chinda to produce their signatures and minutes of the meeting.

“Who endorsed him? Where did you hear that from? I’m not aware of that. I know nothing about it. Ask them about the endorsement document. There should be a document like the minute of the meeting. They should produce it,” Salam said.

However, another top contender for the Minority Leader, Oluwole Oke (PDP Osun), said he was out of the contest.

“I have withdrawn from the race,” he said in a chat with Saturday PUNCH.

Chinda is loyal to the immediate past governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike, who was the leader of the G-5 governors who worked against the presidential candidate of the PDP in the general elections, Atiku Abubakar.

Both Oke and Salam are from Osun State, whose governor, Ademola Adeleke, is pro-Atiku.

Unyime Idem from Akwa Ibom State is also eyeing the Minority Leader.

Chinda, Toby Okechukwu, Umar Barde and Muraina Ajibola lost the battle for the leadership of the minority caucus of the 9^th House in 2019.

Chinda could not be reached for comments as calls made to his mobile phone rang out.

Sharing formula

Meanwhile, it gathered from reliable sources in the opposition camp that the four minority caucus leadership positions were shared among the regions.

It was learnt that the North took the Deputy Minority Leader and Minority Whip, while the South was to present candidates for Deputy Minority Leader and Deputy Minority Whip.

A ranking member of the House in the PDP disclosed in an interview with one of our correspondents how the opposition members shared the positions across regional, zonal and party lines.

The lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We have already given the Labour Party one slot, the NNPP also got a slot, while the PDP has two. Out of the two taken by the PDP, there is one in the North and the other in the South. The agreement is this: two for the South and two for the North. Let the North go and decide where their two will come from, while the South decides on zonal sharing.

“The North-West will present an NNPP candidate for the Deputy Minority Leader, while the North-East has adopted Ali Isa of the PDP. The Minority Leader and Deputy Minority Whip will come from the South. The Deputy Whip will by default go to the South-East because that is the base of the LP. Either the South-South or the South-West will produce the Minority Leader.”

Another member of the PDP, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, however, argued that zones that had already produced presiding officers of the House should have been considered for caucus leadership slots.

While the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, is from the North-West, the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, is from the South-East.

The lawmaker said, “The South-East already has the Deputy Speaker, yet the Labour Party is being considered for a minority position, which may take the slot back to the South-East where the party is dominant. That means they will have two leadership positions.

“But the PDP can always have its way with its number in the minority caucus. The PDP has 117 members. The Labour Party has 35. If we decide to vote among ourselves, will they win anything? Meanwhile, there is LP in the South-West; we have some in Lagos, just that we don’t have a ranking (LP) member from there. The only ranking members they have are from the South-East.”

He also suggested that the majority caucus could consider the zones missing from the minority leadership as well as females for gender balancing.

So far in the House, aspirants for Minority Leader include Kingsley Chinda (PDP/Rivers), Oluwole Oke (PDP/Osun), Bamidele Salam (PDP/Osun) and Unyime Idem (PDP/Akwa Ibom.

PDP decides Tuesday

Meanwhile, the PDP has expressed readiness to support its members in the Senate and House of Representatives interested in vying for the minority leaders’ positions in both chambers of the National Assembly.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, stated this in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents on Friday.

The PDP with 109 seats In the House of Representatives and 36 senatorial seats is second behind APC, which has 211 and 57 seats in both chambers of the National Assembly, respectively.

With the highest number of seats among other opposition political parties in both chambers, the PDP is set to nominate two of its members for the minority leadership positions.

When asked about the development, Abdullahi said, “Is it not automatic that we will field candidates for the minority leadership of both positions?”

A member of the National Executive Committee and Deputy National Youth Leader of the party, Timothy Osadolor, told Saturday PUNCH how the two candidates would emerge.

“The National Working Committee will meet on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the positions you mentioned. Of course, as the largest opposition party, there is no doubt that the PDP will push its own to take what is rightfully its. But it is only after the meeting that the party will agree on which geopolitical zones to consider and which of its members in the Senate and House to push forward,” he said.

He, however, noted that considering what happened in the 9^th Senate when despite the resolution of the NWC to back Kingsley Chinda for the House Minority Leader, the PDP caucus in the House supported Ndudi Elumelu, who emerged for the position; the party’s leadership would be prepared to avert such a development this time.

“Don’t forget what happened in the 9^th Senate and the controversy occasioned by the events that threw up Ndudi Elumelu instead of Kingsley Chinda. The leadership of the party is aware that this can happen and is guarding against it. That experience will be handy this time and the party will take a decision in the overall interest of the country,” he added.

Meanwhile, the NNPP has expressed the readiness of its members to make themselves available for the minority leadership positions in the parliament if other opposition parties rally round it for that purpose.

Speaking exclusively with Saturday PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Agbo Major, said provided the NNPP gets the required solidarity of opposition parties in the chambers, it would be ready to push its members to vie for the offices.

“There are rules guiding how officers of the chambers emerge. Does the NNPP have the numbers? Members often come together based on certain understanding and I do know that sometimes, parties with shared values can come together and agree on what to do. I am not aware that we are in any alliance talks with any political party on the minority leadership of the Houses, but if other parties approach us and identify our members as having the leadership trait they think can help to deepen governance in the parliament, we will be up for it. It will be a welcome development,” Major added.

‘APC can’t influence positions’

In a related development, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Chidi Duru, has conceded that the National Working Committee of the party would have little or no contribution to the zoning of majority and minority leaders’ seats, their deputies as well as heads of juicy committees in the 10^th National Assembly.

Duru stated this in a telephone chat with one of our correspondents on Friday.

He said, “I would like to say this in two ways. The ideal will be for the APC to be involved. But the practice will not allow for it. In actual sense, the party should midwife the process as well as the zoning for both chambers of the National Assembly. But you know that the party did not (have a say in the emergence of the Senate President, his deputy, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives). It was more driven by the President and his people.

“Now on this (majority and minority leadership positions), the ideal would have been the same. However, the practice is that the President may likely take them (the leaders that will emerge) because in galvanizing support for the Senate president and the Speaker, concessions and interests would have been raised. But that was not the issue.

“What I am saying in essence is that the leadership of the 10^th Assembly that emerged was not driven by the APC, hence the party won’t have much influence on the bargaining. So if you didn’t lead the process, how will you determine who gets what?”

A party chieftain at the APC secretariat, who craved anonymity, expressed fear that the body language of the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the indifference of the party may prove costly if concerted efforts were not made to fill up the remaining principal offices.

“I fear that the levity with which Adamu and the NWC are taking the principal offices may cost the party those seats. Once those positions are hijacked, I don’t see how another zoning arrangement can be imposed on the lawmakers,” the source said. (Saturday PUNCH)

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