BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
Following the emergence of principal officers in both Senate and House of Representatives, legislators in both chambers have intensified lobbying for chairmanship of committees.
The Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti) had on Tuesday told reporters that the Red Chamber would constitute special and standing committees before the end of July.
Bamidele had said with the emergence of the majority and minority caucus, which makes up the principal officers, they would hit the ground running.
The Senate has about 70 standing committees but the most sought-after include: Appropriation, Finance, Judiciary, Public Accounts, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Works and Niger Delta Development Commission.
Others are Power, Health, Tertiary Education and TETFUND, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Gas, Defence (Army), Communications, Aviation and Independent National Electoral Commission.
They are termed ‘juicy’ because of the largesse and other opportunities available to the chairmen.
Since the emergence of the principal officers, senators eyeing heads of various standing committees have intensified their lobby, deploying different strategies to outdo one another.
In their quest to get key committees, sources revealed that senators were avoiding being confrontational to the leadership of the Senate and resorting to following the presiding officers wherever they go so as not to be forgotten.
The senators who worked for Akpabio during the campaign for Senate presidency have stepped up their push for heads of juicy committees.
THE JUICY COMMITTEES
Some of the lawmakers that are suspected to have been penciled down for some committees are Senator Adeola Solomon, (APC, Ogun West) for Appropriations; Senator Francis Fadahunsi, (PDP, Osun East) for Customs and Exercise; and Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), who was named the Chairman of an ad hoc committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission.
Though the presiding officers have the discretionary powers to name any lawmaker as chairman of any committee, sources said the selection would be based on lawmakers’ areas of specialisation and competence.
This, a lawmaker who preferred not to be named said, was to ensure effective oversight of government agencies amid public criticism that MDAs are poorly scrutinized by the parliament.
“In their quest to get key committees, sources revealed that senators were avoiding being confrontational to the leadership of the Senate and resorting to following the presiding officers wherever they go so as not to be forgotten”
REPS MAY INCREASE STANDING COMMITTEES
Similarly, intense lobbying and jostling for juicy committees are ongoing in the Green Chamber among members even as the House is said to be planning to increase the number of standing committees.
Following the emergence of the presiding and principal officers of the 10th House, the focus now is on chairmanship and deputy chairmanship of the various committees of the House.
The ‘Selection Committee’ headed by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas and his Deputy, Benjamin Kalu as Deputy Chairman have a big task to accomplish in a short time, which is the allocation of committee chairmanship and membership.
The committee has a member each from all the states’ caucuses.
While its work is kept under wraps, the acting Chairman, Adhoc Committee on Media and Publicity, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim assured that the committees’ compositions and leadership would be done soon.
According to her, the committee had been doing its work since its formation and would do a thorough, deserving job for the House and the country.
The House of Representatives during the immediate past 9th Assembly had 105 standing committees.
But following the high intensity of jostling and scrambling for committee slots, it was learnt that the leadership of the House is already considering the possibility of increasing the number of committees to accommodate more members.
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas is facing a herculean task in the sharing of the committee slots among members, in view of the overwhelming votes and support he got from both members of the ruling APC and those of the opposition political parties who are in greater majority.
It was learnt that members of the House who are from both the ruling and opposition parties are insisting that they must be carried along in the selection of chairmen for the various committees of the House, insisting that they all worked for the victory of the speaker.
It was gathered that there is a cold war between the new lawmakers who are mainly of the opposition parties and the old timers mostly from the ruling All Progressives Congress over the sharing of juicy committee slots.
A returning member who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the new members came in with high expectations as regards committees’ leadership and membership.
He said, in one of his discussions with some of the new members, it was clear that they have already framed their minds and are eyeing particular committees’ chairmanship or deputies for some of them.
Most of the returning members have been heads or members of key committees or held principal officers’ leadership positions and would go for the same or different committees.
One of the returning lawmakers, Sani Bala (APC, Kano) said, the lobby is fiercely intense, adding that the speaker and his deputy are really facing a tough task.
“Lobbying is a natural thing in the National Assembly. Even in the United States and other democracies you will see that there is always lobby.
“However, you know they have the records of all the members and their experiences and the selection committee has the prerogative to allocate chairmanship or membership of committees based on that.
“But, that does not mean that a returning member who had been a member or chairman of a certain committee would still remain in that committee, it is not a guarantee”, he said.
On the number of committees, the lawmaker said, the 9th House had 105 committees, which he said may probably be increased as a result of present needs and agitations.
In the build-up to the inauguration of the 10th House, a group, Joint Task-10th Assembly compromising members of the ruling APC and those of the opposition parties worked for the victory of Abbas, and as such, they are all looking up for compensation in terms of committee chairmanship.
As it is usually the tradition, members of the ruling party in the House and returning/ranking lawmakers are usually given preference in terms of committee chairmanships but the present scenario is such that the new lawmakers are also angling for juicy committees of the House.
It was learnt that there is ongoing high-wired politicking among lawmakers to clinch some of the committees considered to be juicy.
Among such juicy committees are Appropriations, Finance, Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force, Police Affairs, National Security and Intelligence, Customs and Excise; Ports and Harbours, NIMASA, Banking and Currency, Health, Education, Agriculture, Petroleum Resources Upstream/Downstream, Ecological Funds, and Public Accounts.
It was believed that speakership candidates that stepped down for the Speaker, Abbas may get juicy committees’ leadership.
One of the major contenders of the speakership position, Muktar Betara Aliyu (APC, Borno), who stepped down for the emergence of Abbas, is most likely to retain the chairmanship of the ‘juicy’ House Committee on Appropriations which he held in the 9th House.
Similarly, Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), who was one of the speakership aspirants who stepped down for Abbas is most likely to retain the House Committee on Navy which he held during the 9th House or in the alternative be considered for another ‘juicier’ committee.
AGGRIEVED SENATORS GANG UP AGAINST AKPABIO
Also in the senate, plans by the aggrieved senators in the camp of the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, to challenge the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President in court, as the disgruntled group insisted that the result of the election was manipulated.
However, Akpabio’s loyalists have described the threat of court action as a mere ploy by the pro-Yari lawmakers to negotiate for appointment into the standing committees of the Senate.
Plans by the aggrieved senators in the camp of Yari to challenge the emergence of Akpabio as the Senate President in court, thickened at the weekend as the disgruntled group threatened to go to court this week.
The aggrieved senators vowed to drag the National Assembly Management to court this week for allegedly announcing a wrong result.
The pro-Yari senators maintained that the ballot papers used in the election were serially barcoded.
Some senators, who are members of the ruling APC, who spoke on conditions of anonymity in Abuja, also threatened to dump the party if the Clerk to the National Assembly, Magaji Tambuwal, fails to submit the exact barcoded ballot papers used for the poll for proper scrutiny.
About 22 senators of the APC had allegedly planned to defect to the opposition PDP to make the PDP the majority in the Senate.
But a former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, had in a video clip debunked the reported defection plans.
He had also said the June 13 election held to elect Akpabio was fair and transparent, and not manipulated as alleged.
However, some senators disagreed with Kalu’s statement.
They vowed to challenge Akpabio’s election in court.
Two senators from the North East, who spoke on the issue, said that the election was manipulated against Senator Yari.
“Though the election had been held and Akpabio emerged, there are still questions surrounding his victory.
“The ballot papers were tampered with and compromised. The ballot papers were serially barcoded such that the idea of secret balloting never existed.
“Some senators were forced to vote against their will. These actions were not only undemocratic, but unconstitutional and embarrassing.
“A lot of senators who voted for Akpabio did so under compulsion and threat. They never wanted him to be President.
“We are interested in telling the world how barcodes were used to rig the election. Why should an electoral process be tampered with?
“Until it is determined there would be too many other questions to answer in the 10th Senate.
“This is the first-time ballot papers will have a barcode. Akpabio won’t last as Senate President,” one of the senators said.
Another Senator also said, “An election that was supposed to be secret balloting was manipulated and compromised.
“We believe that the right thing must be done to avoid international embarrassment.
“What happened on June 13 was against the Senate rule. You can’t have a Senate president that came on board illegally.
“We will challenge the process and make sure that the electoral processes are not tampered with in the future,” he explained.
But in a swift reaction, pro-Akpabio senators, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the threat of court action was a mere ploy by the supporters of Yari to negotiate for the chairmanship of influential committees.
“The so-called threat is a mere gimmick to negotiate for positions in the standing committees. They know that they lost the election, which was conducted in a very fair and transparent manner. Even Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a staunch supporter of Yari has attested to the fact that the election was credible. They are just seeking relevance by issuing threats so that they will be carried along,” one of the pro-Akpabio senators said.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has pledged to resolve the crisis rocking the APC over the principal officers of the ruling party at the National Assembly.
A fresh crisis erupted in the ruling party on Tuesday when the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, rejected the principal officers of the party announced by both Akpabio and Abbas.
Akpabio and Abbas had announced the principal officers of the APC, including the majority leaders, chief whips and their deputies during the plenary.
But shortly after the announcement, Adamu was quoted as saying the list did not emanate from the party although the governors of the party under the aegis of Progressive Governors’ Forum endorsed the new officers.
The national chairman, who spoke during a meeting with the PGF led by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State on Tuesday, said he was not aware of the development.
“I am just hearing it as a rumour from the online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives.
“The national headquarters of the party, the NWC has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of offices,” Adamu stated on Tuesday.
His statement created tension in the ruling party.
Consequently, President Tinubu summoned Adamu and the party secretary, Iyiola Omisore, to the State House, Abuja, where the issue was discussed.
At the end of the meeting, there was no official statement from the presidency on the matter. A source said the president was embarrassed by the development.
Another source said that at the meeting, the president endorsed the actions of the Senate President and the Speaker on the principal officers.
When contacted, however, the national chairman said that the matter had been resolved.
“We have met the president and the issues have been resolved. It’s a family affair and there were some misunderstandings. We have been able to resolve our differences.
“Those who are eager to see the continuation of the conflict, should please sheathe their swords. We have a complete understanding now.
“The president is the leader of our great party; we met him and we are very satisfied with the discussion we had with him on the subject matter. As far as we are concerned, the issues have been laid to rest,” he said.
Meanwhile, chieftains of the APC loyal to Tinubu are unhappy with Adamu, and they are reportedly rooting for his ouster.
Several sources close to Tinubu in Lagos, his home base, said it was high time the national chairman was eased out because he could no longer be trusted.
Some of the Tinubu loyalists said it was wrong for the party’s chairman to have publicly dismissed the list of officers which the president, who is the leader of the party, must have endorsed.
Many loyalists of the president said the posture of the national chairman had shown that “he cannot be trusted.”
A prominent chieftain of the party accused Adamu of nursing grudges against Tinubu after winning the election.
“Don’t forget the national chairman never supported Asiwaju (the president) during the primary. He supported Senator Ahmad Lawan, the former Senate President. So I think he cannot be trusted to lead the party now that Asiwaju has been sworn in,” the source said.
A chieftain of APC in Lagos, Joe Igbokwe, reiterated that Adamu’s time is up as the party’s chairman.
He said, “He was supposed to have been removed that time when he supported Ahmad Lawan but APC managed the matter. We can’t trust him.”
Igbokwe, a former spokesman of APC in Lagos, said even if the chairman was not satisfied with the list of principal officers released on Tuesday, he should not have made it public.
“In all honesty, we can’t trust him again. He managed for us to come out of the election. Now is the time to ease him out but I know Asiwaju knows what to do,” he said.
A former chairman of the party in Lagos, Henry Ajomale, said there was a limit to the party’s interference in the affairs of the National Assembly.
According to him, the interference of the party should have stopped at the level of nominating the presiding officers for the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“Some of the lawmakers that are suspected to have been penciled down for some committees are Senator Adeola Solomon, (APC, Ogun West) for Appropriations; Senator Francis Fadahunsi, (PDP, Osun East) for Customs and Exercise; and Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), who was named the Chairman of an ad hoc committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission”
He said, “I believe that the party’s main duty is to nominate the presiding officers like the Senate President, Deputy and the Deputy Speaker. I think the others are supposed to be internal so that within themselves they can choose those who are going to occupy the principal officers’ positions because they know themselves more than the party.
“I believe they should be given an opportunity, since they know one another, to pick these themselves.”
But the Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council in Lagos, Tajudeen Olusi, called for calm, saying the party remains one.
He said the national chairman, like other members of the party, has the right to express his opinion which he has exercised.
Olusi said, “Any member of the party, including the national chairman, is at liberty to express his dissatisfaction in respect of any action or purported action taken by the party.
“Our party is a well-organized party and if there are issues to be resolved, we shall be resolving them amicably.”
Olusi stated that the president, as the leader of the party, is capable of resolving any dispute within the party.
“The president is blessed with the ability to run organisations and we have many responsible leaders within the party. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to bother about,” he added.
Another chieftain of the party in one of the South West states, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the national chairman should stop his opposition against the president.
“I am not happy with his comments. It is a well-established principle that the president is the leader of the party. Why should it be during Tinubu that we would have a national chairman who is not on good terms with the president? We need to act fast as a family,” he said.
But sources close to Adamu said the horse-trading in the party was not about the national chairman but the North.
One of them, a former governor, said, “Look, it is not about Abdullahi Adamu alone. It is about the survival of the North. Of course, power has shifted to the South but the North is a major stakeholder. It is with the support of the North that power shifted to the South, and therefore, when it comes to the allocation of positions, the North should have a say. It is about our people.
“People might not understand what is happening until much later. But as you can see, the president called the national chairman today (Wednesday) and they spoke. They understood themselves and the problem is over unless something new comes up,” he said.
Another source said the misunderstanding at the party is a natural occurrence.
“Leaders must disagree to agree later. It is not good for the system that those that control power should always have their way.
“Powerful forces are supporting Adamu, we are with him. He is not alone. What we are doing is to strengthen the ruling party and by extension entrench good governance for the benefit of all,” the source said.
