Senate Presidency and Emerging Possibilities

Perspective

Samson Emeka

The two possibilities playing out among the senators-elect on the contest for the Senate presidency of the 10th National Assembly favour the emergence of a dark horse in person of the Senator-elect from Imo-west, Senator Osita Izunaso

 As at last night, the contest has been reduced to a three-horse race: Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio; former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and Senator Osita Izunaso, representing Imo-west.

This has led to three power blocs, tendencies among the senators-elect.

The first is that of Senator Akpabio being sustained mainly by the endorsement of the President-elect.

This bloc is dominated largely by the South-west Senators and a few from South-South, South-east and North-central.

However, majority of the senators do not have personal conviction on the cause of the bloc and are acting only on what they were asked to do, as publicly disclosed by the outgoing governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi and Senator Ali Ndume when they disclosed on national television that it was the President-elect that directed them to support Akpabio.

There are about 34 senators in this fold. Contrary to the general expectations, the bloc does not enjoy the support of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Adamu Abdullahi. The national chairman has been consistent in his call for “further and better” consultations on the zoning arrangement. He told Akpabio’s counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas to stop parading or seeing himself as the Speaker.

The second bloc is spearheaded by a former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Yari. The group is a response to the announcement of Akpabio by the party as the consensus candidate for the position of Senate President. They were angered by the unilateral selection of Akpabio by the President-elect and are predominantly from the entire North with a majority from the South-east, South- South and two or three senators from South-west. Their grouse is mainly against Akpabio who is generally resented by the northern senators.  This group believes that the Northern interest would suffer in the hands of Akpabio as the Senate President. The group is formidable.

The third tendency is the Izunaso group with members spread across all the geo political zones. They are made up of former members of the House of Representatives, serving senators and new senators rooting for change. They meet regularly. Their vision is a rebranded Senate for the fruition of a new Nigeria. The group is growing daily.

However, there is only a thin line between the Yari and Izunaso group, as apart from both having similar goals of sanctity and independence of the senate, members of the Izunaso’s attend Yari’s meetings and vice versa. There are serious talks between the two tendencies to work together with the two leaders sharing the positions of Senate President and Deputy Senate president. If the talks which are already at an advanced stage are consummated, the combined group would have an overwhelming majority in the senate.

Some core loyalists of the President- elect are putting pressure on him to withdraw his support for Akpabio. Tinubu’s loyalists argued that Akpabio is not the right person to lead the National Assembly at this critical period. They are concerned that the image of an Akpabio leading the legislative arm would send wrong signals to the world, and the global business community where the president-elect is already relating with for economic activities that would boost the Nigerian economy.

The loyalists have become worried and uncomfortable with the daily growing concerns being raised by Nigerians, individually, pressure groups, the media and influential stakeholders. The latest of which were the cries by the South-south Women Compatriots threatening to protest naked. Tinubu’s loyalists hold that the government they have tagged Renewed Hope should not begin on a hopelessness note for an important issue such as the fight against corruption. All the protesters and commentators saw the endorsement of Senator Akpabio as an affront to Nigerians.

The loyalists both within and outside Nigeria are advising the President to look for a competent ranking senator from the South-south or South-east, who is free from corruption allegations to support the position.

In both the South-south and South-east, there are other two ranking senators apart from Akpabio. They are Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a former Governor of Abia State and Senator Izunaso, the pioneer National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Imo State. Out of these two senators, it is only Izunaso that is not accused of corruption.

 If the president-elect listened to the pleas by Nigerians and the advice of his core loyalists, Izunaso is the man to support.

Similarly, the unbridled criticisms and angst against the endorsement of Senator Akpabio have made many senators have more than usual reflections on the issue with a growing rejection of the Akpabio. Realising that their image and future are tied to the perception of the National Assembly, many senators have started looking elsewhere for a more acceptable, presentable, fresh person capable of leading the assembly and earning it a good image.

Championing this are the 50 strong opposition senators who in the first instance never accepted the zoning dictation of the APC. This is the second possibility that would throw the same Senator from Imo-west, Senator Izunaso, whose brilliant outings on national television stations have become subject of discussions at various functions and fora of Senators-elect in Abuja and all over the country.

Senator Izunaso is a founding member of the APC. He worked with Chief Bisi Akande as the pioneer National Organising Secretary of the party. He also worked with Babatunde Raji Fashola and others to formulate policies, constitutions and other requirements that got the party registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2014.

A lawyer and journalist, Izunaso is well educated, politically sagacious, well-grounded and experienced in legislative matters, broad-minded and above all clean without any baggage whatsoever. He is seen as the senator that can give the Senate and indeed the National Assembly a new image that would make the legislative arm of government attractive to Nigerians and the world.

He is the focus of the senators-elect now and would most likely emerge as the next Senate President. The emergence of a dark horse.

Emeka writes fron Lagos.