• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Senate Presidency: APC’s divided house could undermine its chances

Senate

As the battle for the leadership of the Ninth Senate gathers steam, political watchers have warned that the inability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate Caucus to put its house in order, could undermine the chances of its preferred candidate, if not well handled.

Although the governing party is in control of the upper legislative chamber in the Ninth Senate, observers say if the APC national leadership and the party’s Senate Caucus fail to forge a common front on its choice of Senate President, the party could repeat the mistakes of 2015 where Bukola Saraki emerged as Senate President, against its preference for Ahmed Lawan.

BDSUNDAY reports that out of the 106 senatorial positions declared so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC controls 64 seats, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 41 lawmakers and Young Progressive Party (YPP) one. The remaining three senatorial seats of Imo North, Imo West and Plateau South are yet to be declared by the Commission.

“There are dissenting voices within the APC Senate Caucus and some lawmakers are waiting to take advantage of APC’s inability to calm frayed nerves. The emergence of Saraki in 2015 as Senate President will serve as an impetus to those nursing the idea of ignoring party supremacy”, a political analyst, Emmanuel Ezeh, told BDSUNDAY.

There are four front-runners from the APC jostling for the position of Senate President. They include: Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan (Yobe); his predecessor, Ali Ndume (Borno); Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Danjuma Goje as well as his counterpart in Agriculture, Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa).

With 41 PDP senators, political comnrntstors say the 2015 scenario could play out again, as there are strong indications of a block vote.

Investigations also revealed that while the Presidency may have pitched its tent with Adamu as Senate President, the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, has thrown his weight behind Lawan.

Already, there are horse trading and lobbying, as the four contenders are holding nocturnal meetings to strategise on how to clinch the nation’s Number Three position.

Some senators are also pledging allegiance to their preferred candidates.

In a statement signed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education Fund, Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano), he drummed up support for Lawan.

The lawmaker noted that the North East has the highest ranking senator in the 9th Senate and that the geopolitical zone should not be denied their rights by taking the position away to another zone.

He said: “It is now a golden opportunity for all and sundry to facilitate the election of the Senate President using the template of the established international parliamentary practice.

“In parliaments all over the world, presiding officers of Assemblies are elected based on their experiences as leaders of the caucuses of the various assemblies.

“Thus, when a party secures a majority after a general election into an assembly, the leader of the caucus of such a party in the assembly transforms to be the President or Speaker of such an assembly in a process devoid of any rancour.

“The practice is adopted because of the precept of the more you stay in the assembly, the more experienced you are.”

He declared that Lawan remains the most experienced senator in the forthcoming 9th Senate from the North East since 1999.

“The President of the 9th Senate should be Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe State as he is the Leader of the APC Caucus in the current 8th Senate.

“The parliament as a unique arm of government all over the world thrives on experienced parliamentarians providing leadership in order to give purposeful direction to the other arms of government and the society at large,” he stressed.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja