The delay in the release of zoning arrangements for the various leadership positions in the 10th Senate by the All Progressives Congress is creating tension as aspirants battle allegations of corruption, bribery and religious sentiments. Sunday Aborisade reports.
Ranking Senators eyeing the office of the Senate President ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June, 2023, have kick started their campaign activities.
Three of them namely Orji Uzor Kalu (South East), Barau Jibrin (North-West), Sani Musa (North Central) and Senator-elect, Dave Umahi (South-East) have formally declared their interest.
Other aspirants who had yet to formally declare their interest are Senators-elect Abdulaziz Yari (North-West), Godswill Akpabio (South-South), and Adams Oshiomhole (South-South).
There is also unconfirmed report that the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan (North-East) is aspiring to lead the 10th Senate with an understanding that he would stabilise the polity with his same-page policy he is currently adopting in the 9th Senate.
The National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, promised penultimate week that the National Working Committee of the party would release the zoning arrangements for the leadership positions in the federal parliament after the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.
However, sources at the party’s national secretariat have hinted that the zoning arrangements would not be done until the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, return from his current trip abroad.
Pending the decision of the APC leadership on the matter, allegations of financial impropriety and bribery have continued to trail some of the aspirants.
For instance, a non-governmental organisation, the Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPS), has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to reopen the corruption cases already established against Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State. Chairman of PAPS, Dr. Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi, who made the call in a statement he issued in Abuja at the weekend said series of corruption cases established against Yari were mind-blowing and should not be swept under the carpet because he is one of the aspirants for the position of the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.
The group alleged that series of funds allegedly misappropriated by the former governor who had been elected into the 10th Senate, amounted to about N288.4 billion which belonged to Zamfara State.
PAPS further alleged that Yari, who is also aspiring to be Senate President, left Zamfara State with huge indebtedness.
The statement read, “A Federal High Court in Abuja, which had ordered the final forfeiture of various amounts estimated at about N700million linked to Yari has vindicated our group’s calls for the arrest and prosecution of the former Governor.
“The ICPC had claimed that the funds were kept in accounts in two new generation banks by Yari, using his two companies – Kayatawa Nigeria Limited and B.T. Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited”
Similarly, the EFCC has also summoned the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for alleged corruption.
Though the details of the corruption allegations were not made public, it was learnt that Akpabio has been under the investigation of the anti-graft agency for some time.
In 2020, the EFCC said it was investigating corruption allegations against Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
There had also been allegations of N40 billion fraud perpetrated in the Niger Delta Development Commission, an agency under the ministry once headed by Akpabio.
The Senate and the House of Representatives in 2020 resolved to probe the alleged N40 billion financial recklessness of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the NDDC in the previous three months.
Also, there were allegations of over N86 billion contract scam involving the senator-elect and the former Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, which the EFCC is currently investigating.
The anti-graft agency had in the past, arrested Akpabio over alleged misappropriation of N108.1billion Akwa Ibom funds.
Another dangerous development among the aspirants is the bribery allegation involving one of them from the North West geopolitical zone who was said to have shared dollars to both newly elected Senators and the ranking ones.
A civil rights group in Nigeria, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), had last week, urged the EFCC and the ICPC to beam their searchlights on the National Assembly members.
The CD, in a statement by its Secretary General, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, specifically asked the anti-graft agencies to thoroughly probe the alleged bribery scandal involving a Senator-elect and 70 newly elected Senators for the 10th Senate.
The media had penultimate week, reported a meeting between the Senator-elect and elected Senators when the sum of $10,000 was allegedly shared to each of the 70 senators-elect in attendance.
The CD said: “We have it through our impeccable source that some ranking Senators have started using their ill-gotten wealth to woo the returning Senators and the new members who have just received their certificates of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week with dollars and other hard currencies in order to win their votes when electing principal officers of the National Assembly.”
Despite the outcry by the civil rights group, the same Senator – elect was also said to have shared $20,000 each to both new and returning senators last week.
It was gathered that a newly elected Senator and another ranking one, both from the North-West geo-political zone, handled the latest sharing.
However, the current speeches of the aspirants revealed that there could be a repeat of the Eighth Senate experience when Senator Bukola Saraki ignored the zoning arrangements put in place by the APC leadership to contest the Senate Presidency and won.
For instance, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Kalu while addressing journalists penultimate week, said he was in the race on the understanding that the leadership of the party would be magnanimous enough to zone the office of the Senate President not only to the South-East geopolitical zone, but to his Igbere, home town.
The two-term governor of Abia State also said he deserved to be Senate President being a Christian because the President-Elect and the Vice President -Elect are Muslims.
Kalu told reporters that it was his turn to become Senate President being the only ranking APC lawmaker from the South East geopolitical zone.
He said, “If I’m elected Senate President, I will be team Nigeria. I’m going to work for every corner of Nigeria. I schooled in Maiduguri, Borno State. I started my business in Lagos and spread it across all state capitals. My first name will be team Nigeria, my last name will be team Nigeria.
Kalu said he would not be comfortable having a Muslim as a Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.
His words: “I will not be comfortable with a Muslim Senate President because this is a secular state.”
However, aspirants from the North have countered Kalu and warned him against introducing religion into the parliament.
They argued that the parliament rules which guides the election of its presiding officers and other legislative activities of lawmakers, only recognises ranking.
The current Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Jibrin, had boasted that he was the most qualified for the position being the most ranking and experienced among other senators contesting the position with him.
Jibrin has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and in the Senate since 2015.
The Senator said, “I intend to seek to be the President of the 10th Senate. In the next few days, I will start my campaign and make a formal declaration”.
He noted that the position of the Senate president is that of experience and competence, not sentiments.
According to him, “Legislature is a distinct arm of government that doesn’t work based on sentiments, it works on your ability to get the job done. It is the tradition all over the world and it is also stated there in our rule book and the rules are drafted from our constitutions.”
He explained that the Senate rule gives credence to seniority and experience above sentiments.
His words: “It is stated there in our standing rules that aspirations of elections for the seat of the Senate Presidency shall be in accordance with ranking.
“Among those who are running for the seat of the Senate Presidency, I am the most ranked senator.
“So, it’s constitutional and among those who are showing their intentions to run for the Senate Presidency, I am the most experienced.
“The issue is that of competence. You need to be grounded, in the residue of the legislature before you become the Senate Presidency. Do you now play against competence based on sentiments.
“Remember that David Mark was a Christian, his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu was a Christian and the Speaker Patricia Etteh was a Christian because they were the most experienced and ranking and that is the tradition, so do we now relegate competence for other sentiments.
“The National Assembly has the latitude to regulate its own procedures as a distinct arm of government. That’s why we have our standing rules.
“It is clear in the Senate Standing Rule that aspiration or election for the Office of the Senate President shall be in accordance with ranking and most experienced.
“Among those who are seeking to occupy that office, I have the highest ranking and most experienced.
“The issue is that of competence. You need to be grounded in procedures of legislation and other activities of the parliament before becoming the Senate President.
“Bringing religous sentiment won’t fly. It’s about competence not sentiment”.
Jibrin faulted Kalu’s argument on zoning Senate Presidency to the South-East on the understanding that the geopolitical zone would produce the number three position in the country.
The Kano Senator said, “There is need to reward performance. The North West deserves to produce the Senate President because we gave the President-elect the highest votes.
But another contender for the position, Senator Sani Musa, expressed his willingness to sacrifice his ambition in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of Nigeria.
Musa who is representing the Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, stated this last week when he appeared on the Morning Show, aired by the Arise News Channel.
He however, said the only condition that could make him to consider the position of the Deputy Senate President is if a competent Christian aspirant who is running for the office of Senate President convince him to step down, with genuine reasons.
The Senator, who formally declared his ambition to contest the Senate Presidency last week Tuesday, described Nigeria as a secular nation and stressed the need to ensure balance between the two main religion in the country.
He noted that the tension that heralded the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate and his running mate, should be avoided in the race for the Senate Presidency.
According to him: “For the exigencies of our time, looking at the volatile situation of what has generated the Muslim-Muslim ticket in this country, I am one person that believes in the secularity of one Nigeria.
“I am one person that believes that, for every reason, there should be give and take in this country.
“We have lived with both Christians and Muslims. Some of us still have relatives that are still Christians and Muslims.
“We have lived in a society where there’s intermarriage; we have lived for so long.
“Our forefathers envisaged a country where we would all live together.
“I will not have any problem seeing a qualified, competent personality like me in the Senate who has also presented himself for the office of the Senate President and asked me please to drop my ambition for him; I will do it.
“There is a position of Deputy Senate President, which also is a presiding officer in the National Assembly. I will be willing to do it if it’s going to be in the best interest of Nigerians and if it’s going to be in the best interest of the zone I am going to represent.
“There’s no commitment or sacrifice too much to make to keep the unity this country deserves,” he said
Surprisingly however, Chairman of the Southern Senators Forum, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, a Christian, representing Ekiti Central, supported the position of the northern aspirants.
He warned his colleagues to jettison religious and ethnic sentiments while electing the presiding officers for the Senate.
Bamidele, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, said as the inauguration of the members of the National Assembly draws close the criteria for the emergence of the principal officers should be based on competence and experience rather than on religious or regional sentiments.
According to him: “These are the days that should be more important as we try to see those who could lead the 10th National Assembly rather than these issues being presented more as tribal or religious right of individuals or communities than the country. This is in trying to help stabilise and in trying to help reposition the debate so that the real issues are not lost.”
There had been speculations of recent about the preferred zone for the position of the Senate President to reflect national diversity, inclusivity and a power shift to regions that are perceived to be left out of key leadership positions in the last eight years.
Meanwhile, a member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, has hinted that a Christian Senator from the Southern part of the country is being considered as the President of the 10th Senate.
He said, “We want to avoid a repeat of the Eighth Senate incident. We will announce the zoning arrangements soon. The Senate Presidency Will definitely go to the South. It is important to pick a Christian also.”
Observers and analysts, however, continue to argue in favour of ranking Senators with cognate legislative experience as a prerequisite to occupy the coveted position of the Senate President.
Culled from Thisday
