ADELEKE ADESANYA
Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th Senate and the emergence of the presiding officers, different underground moves and alignments have started, especially as concerned chieftains of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, appear not to be ready for a repeat of the 2015 experience.
To this end, consultations and permutations are currently going on, particularly among the senators of the party, on who should be voted as the next Senate President.
Though the Presidency recently announced that President Muhammadu Buhari was not ready to interfere in the process of selecting the presiding officers of the Senate, there are indications that the president would not open his eyes to see the Senate being ruled by those who will give him a tough time in his second term in office.
Analysts have said that total silence by the president and the party about the 9th senate will lead to the crisis that occurred at the beginning of 8th senate.
Meanwhile, some senators-elect in APC have warned the President and the party leadership that keeping mum over the leadership selection of the 9th Senate may be dangerous.
Some APC senators-elect on Thursday cautioned President Buhari and the leadership of the party against sitting on the fence on the issue of the principal officers of the National Assembly.
It was gathered that some of the ranking senators have started mobilising for their ambitions which some of the incoming senators said might be dangerous for the party.
One of the aides of a senator-elect from Lagos, who didn’t want his name in print, said his boss and others had been calling on the party’s leaders to opt for a zoning formula in deciding the presiding officers of the 9th senate in order to avoid problems.
Speaking on the development, a senator-elect from Ekiti State, Adedayo Adeyeye, explained that “the party needs to come out with a clear direction for the ninth senate in such a way that there won’t be problem among the people.”
“The leadership configuration in the ninth Senate or whatever process that will be used by the Presidency and party leadership must be well-managed to avoid any backlash,” Adeyeye said.
Another senator-elect from Ekiti State, Opeyemi Bamidele, also said, “The calibre and character of personalities elected for the 9th Senate are very solid and promising for the country but leadership is key, the very reason the leadership of the ruling party must manage it well.”
He is of the view that “once this is done, the party and, in particular, the National Assembly and the Presidency, will be on the same page on development-driven bills sponsorship, policy formulations and approvals.”
Meanwhile, Senator Sabi Abdullahi has assuaged the fears of Nigerians on possible leadership crisis in the ninth Senate as against the situation in the outgoing Senate.
Abdullahi said, “I was a key player in the leadership configuration of the 8th Senate and the attendant crises that followed, as one of the 43 returnees now, the lessons learnt will be used to prevent the mistakes of the past from happening.”
WHO WEARS THE CAP?
As Nigerians are kept in suspense over the set of people that will constitute the leadership of the 9th Senate, several senators elect have started bracing up, especially for the position of president. Among the personalities that have been tipped to pilot the red chamber’s affairs in the next four years are Ahmed Lawan ( APC Yobe North), Ali Ndume ( APC Borno South) and Danjuma Goje ( APC Gombe Central).
But following his experience at the red chamber, Senator Lawan (APC Yobe North), who is a returning senator is already enjoying the support of his colleagues who had tipped him to lead the senate for the next four years.
Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North, has already thrown his weight behind the Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, as the next Senate President.
Jibrin said Lawan was the most experienced Senator and that the position should be zoned to the North East.
Senator Barau stressed the need for the nation’s parliament to follow established international parliamentary norms to elect Nigeria’s next senate president, stressing that presiding officers of parliaments all over the world were elected based on experience.
The senator, who noted that the North East had the highest ranking senator in the 9th Senate and that the geopolitical zone should not be denied its rights by taking the position to another zone, said, “It is now a golden opportunity for all and sundry to facilitate the election of the Senate President using the template of the established international parliamentary practice.
“In parliaments all over the world, presiding officers of Assemblies are elected based on their experiences as leaders of the caucuses of the various assemblies.
“Thus, when a party secures a majority after a general election into an assembly, the leader of the caucus of such a party in the assembly transforms to be the President or Speaker of such an assembly in a process devoid of any rancour.
“The practice is adopted because of the precept of the more you stay in the assembly, the more experienced you are.”
He declared that the most experienced senator in the coming 9th Senate from the North East is Ahmad Lawan, whom he said, had been in the federal parliament since 1999, adding, “The president of the 9th Senate should be Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe State as he is the leader of the APC Caucus in the current 8th Senate.
“The parliament as a unique arm of government all over the world thrives on experienced parliamentarians providing leadership in order to give purposeful direction to the other arms of government and the society at large.”
deputy senate president
No fewer than seven senators have indicated interest in the position of deputy senate president. Among them is Senator Kabiru Gaya from Kano South Senatorial District and others from South West.
Already, it is believed that the APC leaders will zone the position to the South West.
To this end, senators-elect, including Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central) and Ibikunle Amosun have indicted interested in the position.
Meanwhile, Gaya has said that his aspiration was driven by the mass appeal for it from his colleagues and his burning desire to serve in the leadership of the ninth Senate having returned for the fourth time.
Gaya said, “As regards the leadership composition of the ninth Senate, the majority of my colleagues are mounting pressure on me to run for the position of the Deputy Senate President. I want to use this opportunity to announce that I’m running for the position being one of the most ranking senators in the ninth Senate.”
He, however, said that the actualisation of his dream would be determined by the APC leadership and the President.
Reports have it that Gaya’s ambition may not be unconnected with the pressure being mounted by the South-East and the South-South to produce the next Senate President.
Party leaders yet to meet on zoning – APC
The ruling party said it had yet to meet on the zoning formula for the Senate presidency and other posts in the National Assembly.
The party also dispelled insinuations that President Buhari would single-handedly pick the principal officers without recourse to the party.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the National Working Committee of the party would have to meet and deliberate on the matter before a direction could
be taken.
He said, “Anybody can begin to speculate for whatever reason but the procedure is that the National Working Committee would have to meet first before any other step could be taken.”
Recall that APC will control the ninth Senate with its victory in 65 senatorial districts, compared to the 37 won by the Peoples Democratic Party.
