The Battle for the Red Chamber Leadership: The Case for nPDP Bloc in APC
| Prof. Femi Ajayi
THE BATTLE FOR THE ED CHAMBER LEADERSHIP: THE CASE FOR NPDP BLOC IN APC |
ost Nigerians’ mantra of CHANGE yielded some dividends for APC at the 2015 elections, as it is warming up to take up the mantle of leadership of Nigerian Government, May 29, 2015. The battle is heating up as to who leads the Senate, as the highest elective law making body of Nigeria. The Constitution has vested in the National Assembly, the power to make laws for peace, order, and good governance of the Country with care. APC should be prudence in selecting, or electing individuals with good leadership skills to fetch credence to its administration. The battleground has been prepared for the E-Blocs choice of the Senate President.
The CPC of Buhari captured its comfort zone; joined with ACN of Tinubu, in a not too comfortable zone, but marshalled to produce the VP to make the National Executive; and the ANPP of Onu lost out of the race. The other major block, the nPDP of Amaechi/Saraki, is waiting for the Senate President, with Saraki as the favorable candidate for the slot.
With the hiccup within APC NEC on zoning issue, which Buhari would want reviewed, while the Senate President already zoned to the North Central, it is going to be the battle between George Akume and Bukola Saraki; with a spoiler, Ahmad Lawan, brought into the equation. Lawan is a returning Senator, served two terms in the House of Representatives from 1999-2007 and the most experienced lawmaker among APC Senators.
The Red Chamber Leadership Seat
Interestingly, the 2015 elections witnessed the APC successful penetration into PDP North Central comfort zone to win the election with the merging of nPDP. It won Plateau, Niger, Kwara, Benue, and Nassarawa except Kogi where the governorship election is still pending.
Since the return of Democracy in 1999, we have had preceding Senate Presidents either impeached or resigned. Evan Enwerem 1999-1999; (impeached); Chuba Okadigbo 1999-2000 (impeached); Anyim Pius Anyim 2000-2003; Adolphus Wabara 2003-2005 (resigned); Ken Nnamani 2005-2007.
With the inherited zoning system, APC working committee already zoned the Senate President to North Central, House Speakership to South West, and the Senate to the North Central. Zoning brings out nonentities where there are no toning candidates from such ‘lucky’ zone. A school of thought agrees that it is good for the country it adulterates merit system which should guide the country’s growth. In a diverse ethno-religious society like Nigeria, intelligence demands that quota system is adopted in appointments to public positions, without sacrificing merit. We should be reminded that IQ is not distributed along ethno-religious segregation. Political considerations, more often than not, make rubbish of any logic, especially in the Nigerian public service.
Benue State had been lucky in producing Senate Presidents, Dr Iyorchia Ayu from 1992-1993; Senator Ameh Ebute 1993-1993 from Plateau as Senate President from 1993-1993 when military took over power after the palace coup. Senator David Mark, from Benue has been the Senate President since June 6, 2007, with Senator George Akume, also from Benue as Minority Leader in the same Senate, would terminate in June 2015.
Plateau has produced the Deputy Senate President, Senator Mantu, so also Nassarawa State with Deputy Senate President Haruna Abubakar. Interestingly, North Central Zone has been enjoying the comfort of the Senate President. It is only Kwara, Niger and Kogi that had not benefited from Senate leadership position in the North Central Zone. Senators from Kogi and Niger are all new in the Red Chamber, and Saraki is the only experienced ranking Senator.
Saraki Tinubu Axis
Tinubu led APC into a successful political revolution in the 2015 elections. He should remember the words of Henry Ford that ‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’ Success has a slimy body that could easily break. The sloppy handling of the successes at the polls could make a mockery of APC exercise. Tinubu succeeded in appointing the national leader of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. He is working to endorse the House of Representatives Speaker, and in concert with the interests of Obasanjo, Atiku, Gemanade, and Gabriel Suswam, strongly supporting Senator George Akume for the Senate President for his loyalists to ACN to Tinubu understanding him, and easy bait for Tinubu. Tinubu would be left with three of the four powerful slots at the Central Government.
Does he contend to manage his political successes before the people push him to the lagoon?
Tinubu might not like someone, like Saraki, who he would not be able to control. Indubitably, Senator Saraki could be a hard knot for Tinubu to crack, just like he would control Akume, or pockets Lagos State.
Bukola Saraki, Obasanjo’s calculator Governor, is not a push-over man; as he rightly demonstrated with his late biological father when Gbemisola Saraki, his blood sister, was presented to succeed him as Kwara Governor in 2011. It was a political battle he won against his father, not that it broke the family, which is a moral credit to him. Saraki was able to take Nigeria Governors Forum to an enviable height as the chair, as it was a waning association before he assumed the leadership. During the ailing late Yar’Adua, he successfully led the Governors to the National Assembly to allow the Vice President, Jonathan Goodluck, took over the affairs of the country.
North East factor cannot be easily discarded which possibly triggered up discontentment within the North East Zone about Saraki in the slot. Interestingly, the North East Zone is contesting for the Senate President slot, with the former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje, who represents Gombe Central in the Senate and his counterparts in Yobe East and Yobe North, Bukka Abba Ibrahim and Ahmed Lawan respectively.
At the 8th Senate APC, would have 61 seats against PDP 55. Under Democracy, majority party should produce the leadership at both the House and Senate. It would be unparalleled in the history of Nigeria Senate that the Minority party would produce the Senate President. Albeit the crisis within APC, with just some Senators playing the game of spoilers, of fewer votes from the North East, Mark could retain the post. Moral bankruptcy of some Nigerian politicians could tilt the norm, as Senator Mark, from North Central, the longest serving Senate President, of a minority party, even vowed not to leave PDP, should not abuse the practice in contesting to lead the Senate again. If Buhari is having some influences on the National Assembly leadership, with his anti-corruption crusade, he has to contend with the Tinubu group backing Akume, the oldest and loyalist of ACN; the North East geopolitical zone ravaged with Boko Haram insurgency that produced the second highest number of votes after the North West. Here comes nPDP bloc.
Buhari, using corruption as a yardstick in choosing the leaders, must be a big battle that APC MUST FIGHT. He might clean his house first, if he is serious about sweeping away corruption from his administration, Presidents, from 1999 and the President-elect, who had enjoyed, or is enjoying, the breeze from the incubator of corruption especially in his 2015 election campaigns, all political party leaders, both PDP and APC, to the candidates. Some use threat, bold face, and threats to shift the watchful eyes away from them, depending on the levels of what comes out from the incubator.
An average Nigeria politician could not claim that ‘Saint Certificate’ in the Nigeria rot political process. Corruption has already killed the country. Buhari would be making efforts in rescuing the sinking Nigeria public service ship. Definitely when he pulls a rotten teeth, it affects the would system. To revive it, based on Buhari campaign promises, he needs a brand new caterpillar to trample the cancer in the system.
Senate President Contestants
Among those jostling for the Senate President that could have been given a clean slate from EFCC, has a Boko Haram related case in court, the other one has questions about his social life. The contending candidates are Senators Bukola Saraki, Kwara Central; Senator George Akume from Benue; Senator Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa State; Senator Danjuma Goje of Gombe State; Senator Ali Ndume from Borno State.
Some allegations have been brought against Dr. Bukola Saraki, from the failed Societe Generale Bank, to his two-term Kwara State Governor. Nonetheless, he has not been tried in the Nigerian Court of Law for financial crime. Ironically, Special Fraud Unit, SFU, harassed him, when he showed interest in contesting for the Nigeria President in 2010. When he also blew the whistle on the oil subsidy scam on the Senate floor, he got a letter from Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, that his eight-year term as Governor of Kwara State were going to be investigated. Wittily, up till today (May 2015) noting has come out of the investigation.
Considering the APC blocs and the forces, APC must approve the most qualified and experienced individuals to manage the Senate affairs. Competence, capability, experience should outweigh religion or ethnic sentiment in consideration of Senate President.
The nPDP bloc must be recognised in power balancing!
Consequently, if there is a stalemate among the APC blocs, there may be a repeat of the episode in the House of Representatives in 2011, when members of the House of Representatives opted to elect their Speaker and Deputy in violation of the ruling PDP zoning agenda, which zoned the two offices to South-West and North-East respectively.
The Senate President slot might go the Red Chamber with the governors, party leaders, and elders, including the president-elect, new members of the National Assembly, PDP high-profile defectors and the Lagos/Bourdillion group, to select the Senate President.
Hopefully APC would ensure justice, equity and inclusiveness as its mantra states, not hoping against hope, in an unpredictable Nigeria modish politics of mixing British with American democracy.
Buhari would have a long battle to fight, as he does not want to have any leadership of this country, especially the National Assembly, to fall into the hand of anyone who has had or still has any corruption case, or matter, with the anti-corruption agencies or Police. Buhari needs the full support of a viable Senate to execute his campaign promises; however, he has to respect the rule of law allowing the National Assembly, especially the Senate, the freedom of electing its leader, outside the executive intrusion.
With the yearning of Nigerians, APC should support the most qualified individual to manage the Senate affairs. Good legislation would meet up with the yearnings of most Nigerians for change. Not just, change for change, but change for high-quality performance of the incoming administration; which Dr. Bukola Saraki would offer. Saraki is one of the most decent, hardworking, self denying sons of any wealthy man in Nigeria to head the Senate. .
The nPDP is entitled to the Senate President slot of APC majority party.