N’Assembly Members Intensify Lobby for Appointment into Key Committees

•Pro-Yari senators plan to challenge Akpabio’s victory in court 

• Threat a mere ploy to negotiate for committee positions, say Senate president’s loyalists

• APC urges lawmakers to collaborate with Tinubu

Sunday Aborishade in Abuja

As the members of the National Assembly resume plenary on Tuesday, July 4, after the Sallah break, the federal lawmakers have begun to intensify lobbying for appointment as chairmen and members of key standing committees considered, THISDAY has learnt.

Also, plans by the aggrieved senators in the camp of the former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, to challenge the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President in court, thickened at the weekend as the disgruntled group insisted that the result of the election was manipulated.

However, Akpabio’s loyalists have described the threat of court action as a mere ploy by the pro-Yari lawmakers to negotiate for appointment into the standing committees of the Senate, just as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has charged the federal lawmakers to collaborate with President Bola Tinubu.

THISDAY gathered that the lobby has become more intense in the House of Representatives, which has since constituted a selection committee to recommend members for appointment as chairmen and vice chairmen of the various Standing Committees.

Before the lawmakers adjourned for the Sallah break, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, had appointed seven special committees, including a selection committee chaired by himself.

The six other committees include Internal Security Committee, led by Mohammed Danjuma; Media Committee to be headed by Buka Ibrahim (APC-Yobe); the Legislative Agenda Committee, to be chaired by Julius Ihonbvare (APC-Edo) and the Rules and Business Committee, to be led by Igariwey Iduma (PDP-Ebonyi); Welfare Committee, headed by Wale Raji (APC-Lagos); and Ethics and Privileges Committee, which would be led by Tunji Olawuyi (APC-Kwara).

The selection committee will have one member each from the 36 states and is expected to come up with a list that is likely to be announced when the House resumes.

“Lobbying for membership or chairmanship of influential or what you call key committees is a normal thing in the life of every National Assembly. What matters is that at the end, round pegs will be in round holes and the appointments will reflect the country’s geographical spread and also give a sense of belonging to the minority parties,” one of the lawmakers told THISDAY.

Though Akpabio has not set up similar committees in the Senate, THISDAY gathered that the old and new members of both chambers have begun lobbying for committees regarded as key committees.

Investigations also revealed that many of those who stepped down for Akpabio and Abbas during the elections for the positions of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House would be rewarded with the chairmanship of key committees.

National Assembly committees that oversee influential ministries and agencies with huge annual budgets are considered very lucrative.

Pro-Yari Senators Plan to Challenge Akpabio’s Victory in Court 

Meanwhile, plans by the aggrieved senators in the camp of the former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Yari, to challenge the emergence of Akpabio as the Senate President in court, thickened at the weekend as the disgruntled group threatened to go to court this week.

The aggrieved senators vowed to drag the National Assembly Management to court this week for allegedly announcing a wrong result.

The pro-Yari senators maintained that the ballot papers used in the election were serially barcoded.

Some senators, who are members of the ruling APC, who spoke to THISDAY strictly on conditions of anonymity in Abuja, also threatened to dump the party, if the Clerk to the National Assembly, Magaji Tambuwal, fails to submit the exact barcoded ballot papers used for the poll for proper scrutiny.

About 22 senators of the APC had allegedly planned to defect to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to make the PDP the majority in the Senate.

But a former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, had in a video last week, debunked the reported defection plans.

He had also said the June 13 election held to elect Akpabio was fair and transparent, and not manipulated as alleged.

 Kalu had said: “Let me be honest with you, the election in the Senate was very transparent. 

“Senator Akpabio won the election. It was free; it was fair. I congratulate the Clerk of the National Assembly. 

“I congratulate the Clerk and all the staff of the Senate. You know, I cannot lie against my conscience. Akpabio won the election hands down.”

However, some senators, who spoke to THISDAY disagreed with Kalu’s statement. 

They vowed to challenge Akpabio’s election in court.

Two senators from the North-east, who spoke on the issue, told THISDAY that the election was manipulated against Senator Yari. 

“Though the election had been held and Akpabio emerged, there are still questions surrounding his victory. 

“The ballot papers were tampered with and compromised. The ballot papers were serially barcoded such that the idea of secret balloting never existed. 

“Some senators were forced to vote against their will. These actions were not only undemocratic, but unconstitutional and embarrassing. 

“A lot of senators who voted for Akpabio did so under compulsion and threat. They never wanted him to be President. 

“We are interested in telling the world how barcodes were used to rig the election. Why should an electoral process be tampered with?

“Until it is determined there would be too many other questions to answer in the 10th Senate. 

“This is the first-time ballot papers will have a barcode. Akpabio won’t last as Senate President,” one of the senators said. 

Another Senator also said, “An election that was supposed to be secret balloting was manipulated and compromised. 

“We believe that the right thing must be done to avoid international embarrassment. 

“What happened on June 13 was against the Senate rule. You can’t have a Senate president that came on board illegally. 

“We will challenge the process and make sure that the electoral processes are not tampered with in the future,” he explained.

But in a swift reaction, pro-Akpabio senators, who also spoke to THISDAY on condition of anonymity, told THISDAY that the threat of court action was a mere ploy by the supporters of Yari to negotiate for the chairmanship of influential committees.

“The so-called threat is a mere gimmick to negotiate for positions in the standing committees. They know that they lost the election, which was conducted in a very fair and transparent manner. Even Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a staunch supporter of Yari has attested to the fact that the election was credible. They are just seeking relevance by issuing threats so that they will be carried along,” one of the pro-Akpabio senators said.

APC Urges N’Assembly to Collaborate with Tinubu

In another development, the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu, has charged members of the National Assembly to collaborate with the executive arm of government led by President Bola Tinubu in the overall interest of Nigerians. 

Adamu gave the charge yesterday when Akpabio led members of the Senate on Sallah’s homage to his Keffi residence in Nasarawa State.

Adamu said: “I congratulate you and your deputy on your emergence as the President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate, respectively. 

“Your emergence was a great relief to the party. Contests for offices are over, it is now time for governance. There must be an effective collaboration between the Legislature and the Executive in the overall interest of our people.

“Nigerians expect a lot through you and that can only be achieved through a united legislature and the executive working in sync in a bipartisan manner. 

“As the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, you have the knowledge, experience, and what it takes for the two arms of government to work in harmony for the peace and development of our country,” he said.

Akpabio who was accompanied to the Keffi home of the party’s chairman by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, Senators Dave Umahi, Ali Ndume, and Opeyemi Bamidele, expressed happiness for the opportunity to pay homage to the APC National Chairman, adding that “Sallah is a period to exchange love which is what Islam enjoins us to do.”

He described Adamu as a man of integrity who piloted the recent zoning arrangements in the National Assembly that produced results. 

Akpabio said: “We are here to pay Sallah homage to a man of honour; to give respect to whom it is due. 

“We thank the leadership of the party and the National Working Committee (NWC) through you for the role you played which led to the success of the National Assembly leadership elections. 

“We also thank the Almighty Allah for keeping you alive and we pray that He keeps you alive in good health for more contributions to the development of the youth of this country.

“As I have been saying, the 10th National Assembly will support the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to succeed. 

“We will put laws in place to support the Renewed Hope agenda of this administration in the overall interest of national peace, unity, and development,” he explained.