Much Ado About Reported Move to Oust Akpabio

Kayode Odunaro writes that it’s too early in the day for Senators to move against their President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who was elected about three weeks ago.

There is no doubt that Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio and Senator JibrilBarau fought an intense democratic fight to emerge victorious as the President and the Deputy Senate President of the 10th Senate respectively on June 13, 2023.

Members of their Stability Group led by Senator Dave Umahi as Chairman of the Akpabio-Barau Campaign Organisation with Senator Ali Ndume and Senator OpeyemiBamidele as Director General and Deputy  Director General respectively spent endless nights and days in consultations and lobbying of not only the majority of APC Senators but also other Senators from opposition political parties including PDP, LP, SDP, NNPP, APGA and YPP. 

Their strenuous efforts were in spite of the ruling APC endorsement through a zoning arrangement and the proclaimed support of President Bola Tinubu for the candidacy of Akpabio and Barau in the Senate and that of Hon. TajudeenAbbass for Speaker of House of Representatives with Hon. Benjamin Kalu as the Deputy Speaker.

For many cursory and objective observers, the Akpabio-Barau was almost a done deal towards the June 13, 2023 election of principal officers of the 10th Senate following their early success in getting some key opposition senators and governors to openly endorse their candidacies.

At various points in the race the Stability Group boast of between 65 and 70 signed up members but the major spanner in the works perpetually making the group to watch over their shoulder was the so-called Democratic Group of Senators under the leadership of Senator Abdul AzisYari of Zamfara State. 

The Democratic Group that was opposed to the APC’s zoning arrangements and  PresidentTinubu’s preference has Senator Jimoh Ibrahim from Ondo State as Chairman with Senator Ishaku Elisha Abbo of Adamawa as its Director General.

Their major selling points was to preach a North-South divide, canvassing of further compounding the Muslim- Muslim situation with a mantra that it would not matter if both the leadership of the two chambers of National Assembly are Muslims like the President and Vice President, the nebulous right of the senators under the constitution, not minding the constitutional provisions that grant the parliament right to order its affairs with its rules which ab initio ruled out Senator Yari for presiding officers position as a first time senator and more importantly,

the recourse to massive financial inducement of  some distinguished senators which was pointedly stated by Senator Ndume.

And there was the bogey of a fifth columnist in form of PDP presidential candidate, AtikuAbubakar and PDP rooting and supporting Senator Yari as yet another way of continuing struggle for political relevance.

June 13 came a day after the nation’s Democracy Day 2023 celebration and in a truly democratic exercise, Senator Akpabio was duly elected as the 10th Senate President with a total votes of 63 against Senator Yari’s 46.  Senator Barau was returned unoppose,  thus proving bookmakers right on the Stability Group projections of victory.

The 10th Senate has since commenced the toddler steps of establishing a stable structure for legislative backing of the Renewed Hope Agenda. In the only sitting it had before its departure for a two-week recess that coincided with the Eid-el- Kabir holiday, it set up a Welfare Committee headed by Senator JibrilIsah (Kogi East) to allocate offices and seats in chamber as well as other welfare issues for members.

It was then surprising that after what amounts to a good start, some on the losing side in a democratic exercise have started plotting and fanning embers of discord for some purely selfish advantage to upstage the Akpabio Presidency of the 10th Senate.

This came in form of a sponsored and syndicated stories in the media to the effect that out of the blues 22 unnamed APC senators are set to defect to PDP in a preliminary step towards removal of Akpabio with a majority of senators. While the brains behind this desperate move to rock the boat did not see the outlandish nature of their plot beats ones imagination. 

Were it to be true, this plot will be the fastest in the history of our parliament for a move to change the presiding officers.

The Akpabio presidency of the Senate is yet to take off in terms of announcing principal officers, announcing its committees, both of which are usually the beginning of possible schism in the parliament from our history of such. Or were the authors of such destabilizing plot dreaming of tying the hands of the leadership of the 10th Senate even before it is fully formed and consummated?

An election has been won and lost in the most democratic manner. The best any patriotic parliamentarian can do is to allow the leadership to perform its mettle based on its agenda and the agenda of the ruling APC before any plot to upstage a leadership based on its performance or

lack thereof.

To begin any such destabilizing tantrums by any parliamentarian at this point is not only selfish but flies in the face of making efforts to resolve the various challenges facing the nation which the Tinubu Presidency seems focused on tackling with its incipient policy moves and thrust.

It is even comically ludicrous that such a plot was hinged on the alleged possible defection of a whopping 22 APC senators just to satisfy the whims and caprices of individuals with bloated ego unable to accept a democratic loss.

I am sure no APC senator will contemplate defecting for whatever reasons at this point as such a move is fraught with not only possibility of loss of seat but also potential backlash from constituents back home who may not be privy to the dealings of their newly elected representatives to jump ship even before the sailing commences.

It will certainly be an unforgivable betrayer of the mandates entrusted to the alleged 22 parliamentarians.

Much the same can be said about another brewing plot of possible legal challenge of the victory of Akpabio- Barau. Indeed, the brains behind these kinds of shenanigans and waste of time appear cerebrally challenged not to realize the futility of their brain wave.

Maybe they should go ahead to read the Legislative (Power and Privileges) Act 2017, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic (As Amended), and relevant sections of the Senate Rules. Such composite reading and understanding will educate them that the election of Akpabio and Barau cannot be successfully litigated upon on the basis of the powers, privileges and immunity of such in the chambers of the parliament, not to talk of the issue of locus standi of such litigators.

Thankfully, a major ‘opposition’ figure to the Akpabio- Barau ticket, in the person of Senator Orji Kalu, erstwhile Chief Whip of the Senate and indeed a frontline senate presidential candidate has come out in a viral video post to acclaim and acknowledge the democratic victory of Akpabio and Barau while pledging his support for the new leadership of the 10th Senate.

Others like Senator Yari are encouraged to follow suit to affirm the sportsmanship he displayed on the day of election by accepting the victory of Akpabio and publicly distancing himself from any untimely and ill-advised plots against the duly elected presiding officers of the 10th Senate. 

The new administration at the executive and legislative arms of government have their jobs cut out for it in the months and years ahead in addressing the parlous state of our nation’s socio-economic circumstances.

This is not the time to play hopscotch political game and the ongoing plots should end at the stage of storm in a tea cup in the interest of the nation in dire need of moving away from the precipice.

As we say in our local parlance “let the Akpabio Presidency breath” its uncommon agenda first before any hullabaloo is contemplated.

The nation awaits an uncommon 10th Senate for a Renewed Hope Agenda.

-Odunaro writes from Abuja.