As Parties Protest N’Assembly’s Appointment of Principal Officers…

Principal officers of both chambers of the National Assembly started work last week despite stiff opposition from the leadership of their political parties. Sunday Aborisade reports.

President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, last Tuesday, named Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, an All Progressives Congress member representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District as the Senate Leader for the 10th National Assembly.

He also announced Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon, a Peoples Democratic Party member representing Plateau North Senatorial District as the Minority Leader.

Akpabio made the announcement after he read two official communications from both the majority and minority caucuses of the red chamber.

He explained that the announcement of the principal officers was made based on the concensus and unanimous position of the seven political parties in the 10th Senate.

The political parties included the APC, the PDP, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, the Social Democratic Party, Young People’s Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance

The Senate President also announced Senator Dave Umahi ( Ebonyi South) as the Deputy Majority Leader; Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) as Chief Whip; and Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South) as the Deputy Whip.

The Senate President immediately called for an executive session after the principal officers for the majority caucus had taken their seats.

At the resumption of plenary, 15 minutes later, the Senate President announced the four senators who would form the body of principal officers from the minority caucus.

According to him, “The majority of members of the Senate Minority Caucus of the Senate made up of seven political parties have come up with their leadership.

“They are Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon as the Minority Leader; Senator Lere Oyewumi (PDP, Osun West) Deputy Minority Leader; Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia Central)  as the Minority Whip; Senator Rufai Hanga (NNPP, Kano Central), as the Deputy Minority Whip.

Series of reactions greeted the announcement from both the leadership of both the ruling APC and the PDP.

While the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, said the party had no input into the emergence of the principal officers in the majority caucus, the spokesperson for the PDP, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, said the leaders of the minority caucus did not have the party’s blessings.

However, new Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, met with journalists after the day’s plenary and clarified that no single political party has the sole right to determine the minority leadership positions in the 10th Senate because six of them have members in the Red Chamber.

Bamidele, who said the emergence of the principal officers was not rancourous, maintained that necessary stakeholders came together to fill the minority leadership positions.

He said, “The minority caucus leadership positions was not an entirely a decision that one single political party could determine because more than one political parties are involved in the 10th Senate.

“Thirty eight out of the 50 minority caucus members approved the appointment of the minority principal officers after due consultations with relevant stakeholders.

“The minority caucus also had a matured discussion at an executive plenary session, where they jointly agreed on the principal officers positions and approved the announcement by the Senate President.”

Opeyemi dismissed insinuations that both the majority and the minority leadership positions were sent from the presidency.

According to him, “No list emanated from the Villa. We have two arms of government being controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress but we are still maintaining our independence.

“Despite the fact that Nigeria’s democracy is fashioned after that of the United States, the nation’s constitution in Section 60, made provisions for the full independence of the National Assembly.

“The letter from the caucuses was the consensus list of the APC. The principal officers had earlier met with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos and the APC National Chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, at his Keffi Nasarawa country home.

“The same names that were announced as principal officers today were the same persons that met with the President and the APC National Chairman.”

However, the Peoples Democratic Party member representing Kebbi South Senatorial District, Garba Musa Maidoki, told journalists that he was not part of the process that led to the emergence of the Senate minority principal officers.

Maidoki insisted that the process for the selection principal officers was not transparent.

He said, “I cannot imagine as a senator of a Federal Republic of Nigeria in a minority party and a minority leader has emerged without even sending me a message that I am seeking for your vote or concurrence , support to be a minority leader, what type of party are we having in PDP?

“We have 36 out of the 50 senators that are in the PDP caucus and then we cannot even come together and agree who the should lead us.

“I have nothing against those who emerged, if 38 senators out of 50 have signed as it is said and I believe they did, I just believed from an outsider not a politician that this is not a system that must be encouraged.

“This is because if we must lead this country, we must be transparent to each other, I might not vote for you but I should be able to have a knowledge that you’re vying for something and you should be able to know that even if I oppose you will win but to come at the Senate and just hear that some people have sat down and they have agreed that the  senators have nominated minority leadership.

“I never knew they were signing any document, nobody called me, nobody informed me not even an SMS. We have a minority caucus where we have been meeting regularly, the issue was never mentioned.

“We were at the PDP secretariat yesterday (Monday) expecting our leaders to tell us what we are we going to do and we were told that nothing has been finalized.

“We asked the PDP secretariat to please write a letter to the Senate telling them that we have not agreed on the leadership of the minority caucus.

“Unfortunately, those who were there refused to write the letter either because they are aware or they are culpable. We don’t have a problem, two wrongs does not make it right.

“Leadership has emerged, we are willing to work with them to make sure that the senate succeed, we are not afraid of anybody and we want to be plain and clear. Nigeria is a project that is work, transparency in everything government”

Meanwhile, the NWC of the ruling APC distanced itself from the National Assembly’s majority leadership positions announced by the Senate President and the House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

Abbas had named Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) as Majority Leader; Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, (APC, Kogi), Deputy Majority Leader; Usman Bello Kumo (APC, Gombe), the Chief Whip; and Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (APC, Ogun), Deputy Chief Whip.

In the minority, caucus Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), the preferred candidate of the ex-governor, Nyesom Wike, emerged as Minority Leader of the house.

Ali Madaki (NNPP, Kano) was named as the Deputy Minority Leader; Ali Isa of PDP, Minority Whip; and George Ebizimawo of Labour Party, Deputy Minority Whip.

The speaker said all the members of the APC in the house endorsed the selection of the principal officers from the ruling party.

But the national chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was not aware of the emergence of principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

He spoke during a meeting with governors who are members of the party at the APC national secretariat last week in Abuja. Adamu said the party has not officially communicated with the presiding officers.

He said, “I am just hearing a rumour now from the online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives.

“The national headquarters of the party, the NWC, has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of officers. And until we formally resolve and communicate with them in writing, which is the norm and practice, it is not our intention to break away from traditions. So whatever announcement is made is not from this secretariat.”

But Imo State governor and chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said Akpabio and Abass have the backing of the party’s governors on choice of principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

He spoke with journalists shortly after a meeting between the governors and the National Working Committee (NWC) at the APC national secretariat in Abuja.

Uzodinma said, “[APC] chairman never said they are on their own. The National Assembly leadership belongs to our great party. They are members of our party and they enjoy our support.

“If there is any way that there is a communication gap anywhere, we will make it up and we have our internal mechanism of resolving such things.

The National Assembly leadership enjoys the support of Progressive Governors’ Forum and that of our party. We don’t have any problem at all.”

The PDP, on the other hand, had on Monday last week, said it would communicate to Akpabio to stay action on filling the position of the Senate minority leadership, noting that consultation was still ongoing.

A statement issued after the PDP NWC meeting by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said, “The nominations into the minority leadership positions in the Senate have not been concluded and that upon conclusion, the nominated list will be formally conveyed to him appropriately for necessary action.”

The opposition senators in the 10th Senate from the six minority parties had equally maintained that the emergence of their principal officers was in line with relevant provisions of the nation’s constitution and the Standing Rules of the Senate.

The minority lawmakers held a critical meeting last Wednesday and insisted that the officers for the positions were proposed for appointment and other members confirmed it.

The Minority Leader, Senator Mwadkwon, presided over the meeting with his members in the six opposition parties.

He described the 10th Senate as being unique in several ways, adding that it reckoned as the most diverse Senate in the history of Nigeria’s political development.

He explained that the Senate composed of senators from seven political parties including the APC with 59 members and the opposition parties of PDP, Labour Party, NNPP, APGA, SDP, YPP producing 50 members of the Senate.

The text of the briefing was titled: “Building a virile and constructive opposition caucus in the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.”

Mwadkwon said, “In terms of rules of procedure for the nomination of Minority Leadership of the Senate, Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) empowers the Senate to make rules to regulate its procedures.

“Premised on the constitutional mandate, and by the authority of the Nigerian Senate, the Senate Standing Orders 2022 (as amended) issued as the rule book to guide the conduct of legislative businesses including the appointment of principal officers by the Senate.

“Consequently, the Senate Standing Orders (2022) in Chapter Six (6), pages 21 to 22, Senate Rules Nos 27, 28, 29, and 30 provided for the Minority Leadership positions including the Minority Leader, Minority Whip, Deputy Minority Leader, and Deputy Minority Whip ‘Who shall be Senators, nominated from the Minority Parties in the Senate.’

“The critical emphasis here is that the Officers must be serving Senators of the Federal of Nigeria, who are Members of the Minorities Parties in the Senate and the word nominate in the Oxford language dictionary means to “Propose”.

“When a proposal is made, it is usually to an authority that has the confirming powers, in this case, the President of the Senate.

“Accordingly, the President of the Senate received the proposal, announced it, and publicly gavelled the Minority Leadership nominees into confirmation in line with the Senate Standing Orders.

“It is also important to inform Nigerians at this point that, in line with relevant laws, practices, procedures and conventions, and traditions, the Principal Officers of a Legislative Assembly are not balloted.

“It is not competitive elections moderated by INEC or any other umpire, but a matter that is rooted in age-long and well-established legislative practices and procedures.

“Despite the fact that whenever issues of political leadership are raised, you cannot discountenance the emergence of contentious voices, especially in a situation involving six political parties.

“This is expected because that in itself is the beauty and natural character of democracy whereby we disagree without being disagreeable.

“For us, this is democracy at its best and parliamentary politics at its finest wheel for democratic consolidation in Nigeria.

“However, rather than dwell on issues of parliamentary politics we should now focus on putting machinery in place to unite all opposition parties and outline our Opposition Leadership Agenda to the Nigerian people that will ensure a virile opposition assertiveness in the Senate to keep the ruling majority on their toes.”

On legislative agenda and policy focus of the 10th Senate opposition leadership, Mwadkwon noted that parliament plays a critical role in representation and oversight for the attainment of good governance and sustainable development.

According to him, parliamentary oversight exercises control over the activities of the Executive arm of government including other roles like the making of the national budget in line with the provisions of the constitution to ensure efficiency, accountability, and value for money on government expenditures, policies, programs, and projects.

He said “legislative representation ensures deliberate constituents’ engagement through legislative outreach and quality legislation.”

According to him, the institution would work in the interest of the Nigerian people in all areas of law-making, oversight, appropriation, confirmation of appointments, representation, loan approvals, and constituency services.

“Under our leadership, the opposition parties will establish a formal secretariat with dedicated professional staff to ensure proper coordination and provide relevant legislative support to opposition members to excel in their mandate as representatives of their constituents,” he added.