In this piece, ENIOLA AKINKUOTU reviews the battle for the leadership of the 8th Senate
The March 28 presidential election has come and gone, producing Muhammadu Buhari as the next Commander-in-Chief and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as his deputy.
However, Nigerians will have to wait till June 9 to know who will be the nation’s number three citizen, the President of the Senate. In most federal systems of government, if a President and the Vice-President are indisposed, the Senate President automatically becomes the President.
Also, the legislature, which oversees the duties of the executive arm of government and also creates laws, determines to a large extent the progress or failure of the nation. It is for this reason that the importance of having a strong, purpose-driven and visionary Senate leadership cannot be overemphasised.
The battle for the Senate Presidency will involve only 108 senators (one senate seat is currently vacant due to the recent death of Senator Ahmed Zanna).
However, what makes the 8th Senate peculiar is that for the first time, the All Progressives Congress, which is in the minority in the outgoing legislature, will now become the majority with 60 senators while the Peoples Democratic Party, which has been in the majority in the last 16 years, will become the minority with 48 senators. In the last 16 years, the Senate Presidents have emerged on the basis of zoning. This implied that the President, Vice-President and Senate President have always been from different geopolitical zones.
For instance, in 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (South-West) emerged as the President while Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (North-East) was the Vice-President. The Senate President, Chief Evan Enwerem, was from the South-East. The PDP stayed true to the principle of zoning such that even after Enwerem was impeached, it ensured that his successor, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, was also from the South-East.
When Okadigbo was impeached, the party again ensured that his successor, Mr. Pius Anyim, was also from the South-East. In Obasanjo’s second tenure, Chief Adolphus Wabara (South-East), emerged the Senate President and after Wabara was impeached, the PDP still ensured that the South-East retained the seat in the person of Dr. Ken Nnamani.
The incoming President and his deputy are from the North-West and the South-West respectively. It was assumed that the Senate President would be from the South-East but due to the fact that the APC did not win any senatorial seat in the South-East, there was an upset in the equation.
Two groups belonging to Bukola Saraki and Ahmed Lawan have emerged in the race for the post.
Lawan
Lawan represents Yobe-North senatorial district and has been a member of the Senate since 2007. Prior to becoming a senator, Lawan was a member of the House of Representatives for eight years which implies that he has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and is, therefore, expected to be an experienced lawmaker.
The 56-year-old lawmaker, who holds a doctorate degree in Geography, has been in the opposition since 1999 having been a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party which later merged with other parties to form the APC.
Lawan’s geopolitical zone, the North-East, has never produced the Senate President in the history of Nigeria while the North-East has not held any top position in the country since Atiku left office in 2007. This has, therefore, attracted sympathy for the North-East which has also been the biggest victim of terrorist attacks.
Lawan is also said to have been endorsed by the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who many of the senators in the South-West are loyal to. Lawan’s ambition also received a boost on Saturday when Tinubu reportedly convinced another top contender for the Senate presidency, Senator George Akume (Benue North-West), who is the current Minority Leader of the Senate, to step down for Lawan and take the position of the Deputy Senate President.
Akume, who hails from the North-Central geopolitical zone, and has since agreed to be Lawan’s deputy, is expected to bring the members of his caucus into the fold.
In a recent interview with journalists, Lawan, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, said he was the most qualified to lead the Senate, especially as the incoming administration has vowed to make the war against corruption its cornerstone.
Unfolding his vision for the Senate, Lawan said, “I want to provide a 21st Century Senate Presidency; a leadership that will ensure that we have a bi-partisan approach to legislative business. I will bring incorruptibility and credibility to leadership. Buhari was elected based on three issues – anti-corruption, fight against insurgency and economic revival. I can complement the anti-corruption stance of the President.
“Nigeria needs a serious anti-corruption fight. If we don’t fight corruption, the resources will go into private pockets. We need to block leakages. My public accounts background will be of help. The judicious financial management of our resources is a priority. We are coming to power at a time of dwindling resources. Those who pillage the treasury will be brought to book.”
Lawan maintained that he is qualified to serve as the Senate President because he has the pedigree, competence and experience.
He said, “I have worked in the two chambers. I know the sentiments, tendencies, and sensibilities of the two Houses. The 16 years of experience have enabled me to work with three Speakers – Buhari Salisu, Ghali Na’aba and Bello Masari.
“The 20 per cent capital expenditure and 70 per cent recurrent expenditure ratio is not acceptable to Nigerians. We must balance the budget and reduce the recurrent expenditure to have a pro-people budget.
“We need to enforce our oversight functions. We should have statutory or mandatory period for oversight for every committee to go and monitor the use of funds allocated to all sectors. This will curb embezzlement. We need a Senate that is focused. We need a pro-poor Senate leadership.”
Lawan said the slot should be zoned to the North-East as a reward for its massive votes for the APC in the recent election and compensation for the disruption of its socio-economic life by the dreadful Boko Haram sect in the last three years.
He said since the insurgency started, no capital project had been inaugurated in the North-East.
Lawan has, however, come under attack by some senators who see him as Tinubu’s stooge. They argue that Lawan could be used by Tinubu to have his way in the National Assembly. It is for this reason that some PDP senators may move against him.
However, the senator rejected the notion that he was being sponsored by Tinubu even though he said that the backing of the Jagaban of Borgu, whom he described as a respectable leader, would not be out of place.
He also maintained that he had a good rapport with many PDP members in the Senate. He is believed to be close to the outgoing Senate President, David Mark.
However, Lawan’s chances might also be threatened by the speakership ambition of Yakubu Dogara, who represents Tafawa-Balewa/Bogoro/ Dass federal constituency at the House of Representatives.
If Dogara, who is also from the North-East, emerges the Speaker of the House, it is highly unlikely that Lawan, who is also from the North-East, would emerge the Senate President.
Saraki
Saraki represents Kwara-Central senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly and is currently the Chairman, Committee on Environment and Ecology. The 52-year-old lawmaker is a highly experienced politician who understands the game like the back of his hand having been tutored by his father, the Oloye and strong man of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, who was the Senate Majority Leader during the Second Republic.
Saraki was governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011 and thus has both legislative and executive experience. During his second term, he emerged the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He showed leadership traits in 2009 as the chairman of the forum when he intervened in the problematic assumption of power by the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, following the illness and subsequent death of President Umaru Yar’Adua by devising the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ alongside the leadership of the National Assembly.
Since then, Saraki’s political influence has continued to grow such that many will agree that he is to Kwara State what Tinubu is to Lagos State. This was even brought to the fore when he dumped the PDP and defected to the APC in 2013. He ensured that the governor, ministers and several lawmakers defected along with him. In the last election, he delivered every elective office in his state to the APC.
Saraki is also believed to be independent minded as he has no godfather. It is for this reason that many have expressed their support for him as the choice of the senators and not the choice of godfathers.
Accordingly, he is said to have been endorsed by 35 of the 60 APC senators under the aegis of Like Minds Senators.
A video posted by Saraki on his Facebook page showed senator-elect, Dino Melaye, standing alongside his colleagues, reading out a communiqué to support Saraki.
Melaye said, “The leadership of the National Assembly is about the senator that has the wherewithal to stabilise the legislative institution, working with the executive and judicial arms of government to be effective and perform to their optimal capacity. Of the 59 senators of the APC, 35 of us present here today hereby reaffirm our collective commitment and resolution to support the candidature of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki as the Senate President of the 8th Assembly.
“We also resolved that the office of the Deputy Senate President be zoned to the North-East.”
But supporters of Saraki’s bid for the esteemed post hold the view that as a leading member of the new PDP that defected to the ACP, Saraki should have the post as the PDP bloc has yet to get any post within the party. They argue that the CPC produced Buhari while the ACN produced Osinbajo and that the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was once a member of the ANPP.
Also, some are of the opinion that the North-Central has been presiding over the Senate for the past eight years.
The former governor has also been the subject of controversy since 2012 following allegations of financial impropriety, and has been investigated by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
He was once declared wanted by the police for an N11bn loan scam involving the defunct Intercontinental Bank.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has, however, cleared Saraki of any wrongdoing.
Delivering judgment in a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed by Saraki, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, from further inviting or arresting the former governor over the alleged bank loan.
The court hinged its order on a legal opinion by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, that the allegations of wrongdoing against the former governor were baseless.
A supporter of Saraki’s ambition, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “Buhari should remain neutral in the whole process. Meddlesomeness killed the PDP when 16 became greater than 19. The Olusegun Obasanjo administration recorded many senate presidents due to executive interference. Akinwunmi Ambode was picked in Lagos through zoning. The President-elect and V-P-elect were picked through zoning. If we are not going to have zoning as canvassed by the National Working Committee of the party, then let’s have a free and fair primary, where the most popular candidate would emerge.”
Some watchers have said that Mark, who is also eyeing the post, may reenact the Aminu Tambuwal scenario by reaping from the disagreement within the APC.