By AYO ESAN, ABUJA
President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday sent a proclamation letter ending the tenure of the Eighth National Assembly. Following his letter, the clerk of the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori said the 8th National Assembly would officially terminate by 12 midnight on June 8 and that the 9th Senate would be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
“I just want to confirm that I have received a proclamation from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One on the dissolution of the 8th National Assembly, the other one on the convening of the first session of the 9th National Assembly,” he said.
This was the tonic needed to heighten the struggle for the leadership of the ninth National Assembly, which kicked off since the conclusion of the 2019 general elections in March this year.
To avoid a repeat of what happened to it in 2015, the majority All Progressives Congress began the preparations for the election of the National Assembly Leadership very early with its adoption of Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe as the Senate President and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos as the Speaker.
The APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, had threatened that any National Assembly member elected on the ruling party’s platform who disobeyed its decision on the choice of Lawan and Gbajabiamila would be sanctioned. This threat was further underscored by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Malam Lanre Issa- Onilu, when contacted by our correspondent last week.
“We have made our choice in Lawan and Gbajabiamila. Any member that contradicts that decision will be sanctioned. We are still maintaining that position. That is what I can tell you,” he said.
Despite taking a position on the National Assembly leadership, some members of the party are kicking against the party leadership’s decision by throwing their hats into the ring to contest for the different positions.
For the senate presidency, though one of the aspirants, Senator Danjuma Goje, withdrew from the race last Thursday, Senator Ali Ndume said he would be trudging on in the race. He has insisted that nothing would stop him from contesting for the Senate Presidency on Tuesday.
Also, five APC members- Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos), Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Abia), John Dyegh (Benue), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Olatunbosun Olajide (Oyo) and Segun Odebunmi (Oyo) are currently aspiring to the speakership of the 9th House of Representatives.
The Point, however, has also gathered that the National Working Committee of the party is not in one accord regarding its decision to back Lawan and Gbajabiamila for the positions of the Senate Presidency and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, had recently called on the party’s leadership to ensure that the zoning arrangement for the incoming 9th National Assembly reflected the remaining four geopolitical regions of the country.
Nabena made the recommendation with emphasis on the fact that the president and the vice president are from the North-West and South-West, respectively, and that the two zones should be excluded from the National Assembly Leadership.
He said with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo coming from the North-West and South-West, respectively, “the party’s leadership should ensure that the zoning arrangement for the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the incoming 9th National Assembly reflects the remaining four geopolitical regions of the country.”
Nabena warned that if the party failed to get it right now, the 2023 elections might turn out to be a free-for-all in the ruling party.
“The APC has elected National Assembly members from all geo-political zones of the country. Hence, the party’s leadership and indeed the Presidency must take deliberate efforts to provide a fair and justifiable zoning arrangement for the 9th National Assembly leadership,” he had said.
Aside from Nabena, many senators and House members elected on the platform of the party believe the party leadership’s decision may not be adhered to because they were not consulted before they picked those leaders for the National Assembly and so they are said to be in talks with major elements in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to thwart the APC’s decision.
Already, some senators-elect and members-elect have expressed fears that if care is not taken, the 2015 scenario will be repeated with the way the APC has been going about the endorsement of the candidates for the National Assembly leadership.
APC youths’ leaders had also called on the party to rescind its decision on the suspension of both Governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibikunle Amosun.
They said, “We have examined both the various pre- and post-elections issues confronting our party and resolved to draw Mr. President’s attention to the dangerous drift of the ship of the party, which, if not urgently steered aright, may be heading for the precipice.
“Whilst we agree with the initiative to determine National Assembly leadership within defined parameters of zoning and ranking to ensure stability and discipline within the party, we must do so without undermining the independence of the Legislature.
“We consider the micro-zoning as advance recipe for chaos, mindful of the experience of 2015. It is anomalous to have made a pronouncement on the position of the Senate Presidency and Speakership of the House of Representatives to the exclusion of other positions and other zones.”
However, waiting in the wings is the main opposition PDP, which has said it is not in any way bothered that the ruling APC has been doing everything to sideline its members in the election of the presiding officers of the Ninth National Assembly.
The main opposition party says it is rather monitoring what is ongoing in the camp of the ruling party and would act when the time comes.
According to the PDP, there is no way the votes of about 46 senators would not count in the election of the leadership of the Senate.
The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, stated that it was not his style to start making noise about the position the party would take when the time was not ripe to elect the presiding officers of the National Assembly.
He said the PDP also had what he called “unshaken confidence” in its lawmakers- elect, adding, “They are all capable to take decisions that are in the best interest of Nigeria, Nigerians and are all good party men and women.
“We are not bothered about the hue and cry by the ruling party of their winner-takes-all position. We know that politics is about negotiations, discussions and listening to people. The Senate is made up of former governors, who have served for eight years, ex-ministers and even ambassadors. Some deputy governors are there as well. You don’t just summon and bark out orders at such men and women. National Assembly is the nation’s symbol of democracy. As a party, we are keenly watching what is going on. We are also hearing what some are saying about how they want to control the Assembly and all that.”
Secondus said he preferred to be underrated by opponents before any election, adding that the PDP experienced such in the just concluded elections.
Also speaking, 8th Senate’s Minority Leader, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, said while the PDP would not field any candidate for the position of the Senate president, the ruling APC would play into their hands.
Olujimi said anyone contesting for the position of the Senate presidency and thinks 44 PDP senators out of 109 senators were not needed would be making the greatest mistake of his life.
She said, “The controversy is unnecessary because the dynamics of the Senate is different from what is outside. What will happen is that whoever will be the Senate president will have to network between APC and PDP lawmakers.
“Anyone who thinks 44 members out of 109 senators are not important will have another think coming. Anyone who ignores that will suffer, just like it happened when we resumed in 2015.”
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, however, added, ”Our position has been made known. Our elected senators and members of the House of Representatives are constitutionally eligible and can seek election into any presiding office of both chambers of the National Assembly
“The position of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives as well as the Deputy Senate President and the Deputy Speaker are not the exclusive preserves of any political party, but a constitutional right of every elected lawmaker in both chambers.
“It is, therefore, laughable and amounts to empty grandstanding and self-delusion for President Muhammadu Buhari and the factional National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, to posture as if the presiding offices and committee chairmanship in the National Assembly are exclusive rights of the APC.
“President Buhari and Oshiomhole should wake up to the fact that the National Assembly belongs to no political party but to all Nigerians, who exercise their control through their elected representatives.
“For emphasis, Section 50 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear in providing that “There shall be:- (a) a President and a Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves; and (b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves”.
“Section 92 (1) makes the same provision for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of State House of Assembly.
“The PDP, therefore, does not only have a constitutional say in the process of the emergence of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly, but will, as a matter of constitutional right, field candidates into presiding offices of both chambers, if need be.”
And to ensure solid bloc votes, the state governors elected on the platform of the PDP called an emergency meeting last Thursday to decide who to support during the 9th National Assembly leadership poll.
The meeting, which was presided over by the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Seriake Dickson, was expected to take a stand on who to support among those aspiring to lead the National Assembly.
It was, however, gathered that though the meeting was held, there was no public pronouncement on who among the candidates the governors would be backing for the leadership of the National Assembly.
A source from the meeting informed The Point that though an agreement was reached, the PDP Governorship Forum decided not to make it public. It was learnt that the Forum had already conveyed its choice to the PDP National Assembly members- elect.
The PDP spokesman further said, “You know the position of the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; he said members of the National Assembly would decide who leads them without any interference. He said the National Working Committee was not compelling any of its lawmakers in the choice of the new leadership.
“So the governors have communicated their decision to the National Assembly members. You don’t expect them to announce openly their choices. Many are condemning the APC leadership for dictating to members of the National Assembly on who should lead them. PDP’s position is that members in the National Assembly will determine what happens and inform the NWC of their decision.”
The PDP has also debunked the rumour of crisis within its fold over the leadership of the National Assembly. The party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said there was no crisis within its ranks or any form of division over the choice of the 9th National Assembly leadership by its members.
So, should PDP go into Tuesday’s inauguration as a united front, then whoever emerges as the Senate President and the Speaker of the House must have the support of the main opposition party. The PDP has been boasting that it needs just 20 aggrieved senators from the APC to have its way and less than 60 disgruntled APC members in the House of Representatives to decide who emerges as Speaker of the House.
A media consultant and member of the PDP, Mr. Sheddy Ozoene, told our correspondent that if the APC leadership, led by Oshiomhole, had been embarrassed by the situation in Zamfara and Rivers states, more embarrassments await the ruling party on Tuesday, if adequate care is not taken.
Meanwhile, the APC governors are also scheming and planning, day and night, that their choices for the leadership of the National Assembly scale through on Tuesday. The governors are being led in this assignment by the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai and the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Political analysts and watchers of political events in the country are of the strong opinion that for the APC to have its way on Tuesday, it needs to placate its aggrieved members, rather than threatening them, since the party can conveniently win with a simple majority in the election, if it puts its house in order.