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The battle for the speakership position in the House of Representatives is assuming a very serious dimension as some aspirants dare the ruling All Progressives Congress by vying for the post, while ethnicity and religiosity are also added to the scramble
By Olu Ojewale
THE 2019 general elections are gradually winding down. But there is another electioneering going on right now. The contestants this time are those who want to lead the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Realnews magazine in its report of March 20, focused on the battle for the Senate president. This time, the magazine is examining chances of those interested in leading the House of Representatives otherwise known as the Green Chamber, as the speaker.
Already, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has zoned the position of speakership of the House of Representatives to the South West, but that has not stopped aspirants from other parts of the country to show their interest. In fact, at the last count, there were 10 aspirants are jostling for the post. Those who have mounted the rostrum to campaign for the speakership post in recent times are Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos), the majority leader in the House; Abdulrazaq Namdas (Adamawa), the chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs; Umar Bago, the chairman, House Committee on Finance (Niger); Ahmed Wase (Plateau), the deputy House leader; Muktar Betara, (Borno); Idris Wase (Plateau); Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Abia); John Okafor (Imo); Babangida Ibrahim (Katsina) and Mohammed Kazaure (Jigawa). They are all of the ruling APC.
In 2015, the ruling party favoured both Gbajabiamila and Ahmad Lawan to emerge as the speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate president, respectively, but it turned out differently as Yakubu Dogara and Bukola Saraki eventually won the two positions.
Interestingly, both Gbajabiamila and Lawan have been endorsed by the party again to head the ninth National Assembly this time. Just as it was in 2015, it appears, Gbajabiamila is not going to have an easy ride despite being favoured by the APC hierarchy.
On Sunday, March 31 in Abuja, Gbajabiamila, formally declared his intention to contest for the position of the speaker of the House. While addressing an audience of lawmakers, journalists, and well-wishers at the event, the lawmaker said he wished to become the speaker of the House of Representatives in order to bring government closer to the people.
Gbajabiamila, who is representing Surulere federal constituency, Lagos said he would work to serve the people if elected as the speaker of the house. He said: “I seek the office of the speaker to bring our tendencies together and unite us as a country. I seek the office of the Speaker to bring governance even closer to the people. I seek the office of the speaker to mentor the next generation. I seek the office of the Speaker so I can use the bully pulpit to galvanise honourable members to make life more abundant for every Nigerian irrespective of tribe, religious background or political persuasion.
”There is so much work to be done by way of legislation in many areas of our life including but not limited to education, health, power, infrastructure and alleviation of poverty. I believe many of these deficits can be addressed through meaningful and impactful legislation.”
Gbajabiamila, the lawmaker, who has been a House of Representatives member since 2003 boasted of his long years of experience in the House as an advantage over other lawmakers interested in the position.
That notwithstanding, a group, under the auspices of North-central APC Ambassadors, in a letter dated April 1, which was addressed to Adams Oshimhole, the national chairman of the party, insisted that the zone should be given the opportunity to produce the speaker of the House of Representatives as a reward for the 2.4 million votes it gave President Muhammadu Buhari during the presidential poll of February 23.
The letter was jointly signed by Muyideen Yusuf (Kwara), Rita Longjap (Plateau), Muhammad Ibn Muhammad (Niger), Lucas Cassius (Nasarawa) Yahaya Dauda (FCT) and Shehu Araga (Kogi), the coordinators from the five states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,.
In the letter, the group argued that since the president is from the North-West, the vice-president is from the South-West and the Senate president has been zoned to North-East, the speaker must be zoned to North-Central.
The letter said in part: “Even though South-West has the VP, it didn’t perform as well as NC in the last elections. So, who should be rewarded?
“North-central has consistently been loyal to the party. Since 1999, NC has never occupied the position of speaker or deputy speaker while all the other zones have occupied these positions.”
The group’s argument has the support of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, who on Wednesday, April 3, said he would do everything possible to ensure the position of speakership of House of Representatives in the ninth Assembly comes to his state.
The governor, while addressing members-elect at Transcorp, said it was not proper for the party to have neglected the North Central zone and Niger State in particular, who had contributed greatly to the success of the party in Nigeria.
Represented by Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, his deputy, the governor said the government and people of Niger State would make sure Umar Mohammed Bago was returned as the speaker.
Bello said among this: “Today, on behalf of His Excellency and the people of Niger state, we are appealing to all the members-elect that this particular position should come to North Central, and to Niger state.
“We as a government will do everything humanly possible, both in morale support and otherwise, to ensure this position come to Niger State.”
Consequently, he promised to reach out to members-elect, “one by one, to ensure this position come to Niger state.”
On his part, Bago, said he would not have contested if the APC had given the position to South East, adding that the North Central had been neglected for long.
“We have decided to come this far in this journey, because we believe in equity. North Central is an integral part of this union called Nigeria. We have given our best to bring APC where it is today, we are responsible also for the victory of our party.
“In a union where you have six zones and two have been settled, the presidency has gone to North West and the vice presidency has gone to South West, we are left with four. It is only just for the remaining four zones to be allowed to participate,” Bago said, adding: “In honesty, we cannot be second class citizen in our own country. We will not take it for anyone to impose a Speaker on us from Lagos state, it is not possible.”
Similarly, the Conference of APC State Publicity Secretaries, CAPS, South-East zone, has called on Gbajabiamila to drop his bid. “It is our view that the southwest geopolitical zone cannot take the office of vice president and speaker; the northeast, Senate presidency and Secretary to the Federal Government; while the southeast goes home weeping,” the group said in a joint statement by the publicity secretaries namely, Nwoba Chika Nwoba (Ebonyi State); Kate Ofo (Enugu State); Benedict Godson (Abia State); and Okelo Madukaife (Anambra State).
According to the group, “this dark pencil requires a soft eraser, and no amount of browbeating can dissuade that. We think that Gbajabiamila should be part of this solution, sacrificially. We expect a rework of what has been passed to the public domain as ‘APC zoning’, which the national chairman of our great party gladly says has not been concluded, going by his recent interview on Channels Television. We wish to be advised on which leaders of APC in the South-East were part of the process that chose who will be what in the National Assembly.”
As if that was not serious enough, there are suspicions that Bukola Saraki, the Senate president and Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House, who are now members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are planning with some persons in the House to hijack the process that will lead to the emergence of their successors
Consequently, the APC on Wednesday, April 3, said it was aware of the antics of Saraki, Dogora and other PDP leaders to influence the emergence of the next Senate president, speaker of the House of Representative and other leaders of the ninth National Assembly.
Yekini Nabena, the APC national publicity secretary in a press conference in Abuja, warned that the plot to ensure that the APC endorsed candidates did not win the principal positions in the forthcoming ninth National Assembly would fail woefully. He disclosed that “The APC has learnt its lesson from the outgoing National Assembly when impostors masquerading as party men sabotaged our party and hijacked our mandate. Affliction shall not rise up the second time.
“The efforts of the Adams Oshiomhole leadership of the party are commendable in achieving a fair selection and zoning arrangement that appeals to a greater section of the party stakeholders.
“The APC is the overwhelmingly majority party in the National Assembly and has a legitimate right to make its choices on the selection and zoning of principal offices.
“The APC family is in agreement on the party’s supremacy and the PDP and other opposition parties should focus on their minority positions,” Nabena said.
But Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP national publicity secretary, dismissed the allegations by the APC, saying the party leadership was merely displaying its ignorance of the concept of democracy and the principle of separation of powers and the way the parliament should work.
According to the PDP spokesman, President Muhammadu Buhari and Adams Oshimhole, the national chairman of the APC, are the major culprits creating problems because of the lack of understanding of the roles of the parliament in democracy. He charged: “They are the ones creating problems in the parliament. They are the ones who said they would not recognise the party that has over 40 senators in the process of the day-to-day activities of the National Assembly. They are the ones who do not understand how presiding officers are elected in the National Assembly and they claim they will go and read out names on the floor. So, they can never accuse the PDP of interference.”
Indeed, although the ruling APC has 211 majority seats in the House of Representatives, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, with 111 is still seen as a big threat.
That notwithstanding, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the APC, during his 67th birthday celebration on Friday, March 29, cautioned those vying for the office of the senate president and speaker house of Reps to be mindful of their actions, noting that a repetition of what happened in 2015 would not be tolerated in 2019.
Tinubu, who spoke to pressmen, said that party discipline would be upheld in addressing the leadership tussle of the ninth National Assembly. He said that party members should either stay with them or follow them or leave them. He was invariably referring to aggrieved lawmakers who are vying for the post of the Senate president and speaker in the ninth assembly. “It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave”, he said. “Party discipline is key, we must be disciplined in the party. We were a little careless in 2015. We created the opportunity for serpent to get into our party and that did not allow Nigeria to make the desired progress. You have seen the result of it and we are not going to allow that to happen again. We are going to respect our party and we are going to apply the whip.
“It is either you stay with us or you follow us or you leave. You have the freedom to choose but the freedom does not give you as a minority to go and collaborate and protrude our mandate given to you to another party who was our opposition and who is still our opposition.
“We would not take that this time, no matter who you think you are. That is how it is built. Why do you want to deviate from what has been structured? We look at our reward system equally, zone by zone,” he said.
While the dust over the zoning of the speakership position is still been hotly contested by those interested in the leadership positions in the National, another dimension was added to the fray.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, demanded that either the next Senate president or speaker of the House of Representatives should be a Christian to correct “the religious dichotomy” in the national political leadership. Samson Ayokunle, the CAN president, made the demand in a statement signed by Adebayo Oladeji, his special assistant, Media and Communications, on Monday, April 1, in Abuja.
Ayokunle urged the incoming leadership of the National Assembly to ensure religious and ethnic balance in the selection of officers as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, to avoid marginalisation.
“As you prepare for your inauguration, CAN urges you to balance the appointments of your principal officers across religious divides. This is to avoid domination and marginalisation of any kind in the interest of equity, justice, and fair play as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“We, from the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, recognise the importance of the National Assembly to the stability and growth of our polity.
“It is in this regard that we call for ethnic and religious balance with depth in picking the leadership of that great institution of democracy,” he said.
Ayokunle said doing this would go a long way to remove any apprehension and suspicion harboured towards the leadership of the country.
But the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, did not take kindly to the demand. Salisu Shehu, the deputy secretary-general of the council, in a statement on Thursday, April 4, said the council wondered whether the CAN still remains a religious body or a political party in a religious garb.
“The council is persuaded to believe the latter because of the association’s posture as the counterfoil for and opposition to everything Islam and Muslims in this country.
“We cannot also but wonder whether Islamophobia has indeed not replaced the more important responsibility of giving direction to millions of our compatriots who are law-abiding citizens of the Christian faith.
“Specifically, the statement issued by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji (special assistant Media and Communication to CAN president) on behalf of CAN is the last straw to break the camel’s back in the association’s ill-advised and ill-motivated interventions in the polity,” Shehu said.
He also wondered if the CAN is suffering from selective amnesia or is it just obsessed with deception?
He asked where the CAN was between 2009 and 2011 when Goodluck Jonathan was the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Justice Aloyious Katsina-Alu the chief justice, David Mark, the Senate president and Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy Senate president.
“Was there religious balance in 2007 when David Mark was elected Senate president and Patricia Etteh was elected Speaker? Was there no 1999 Constitution at that time?
“Even prior to 1999, the two arms of the National Assembly were headed by Christians. For instance, while between 1979 and 1983, the Senate was headed by Joseph Wayas and the House of Representatives by Ume-Ezeoke, from October to December, 1983, Joseph Wayas and Benjamin Chaha were leading the respective chambers. Furthermore, in the aborted Third Republic, the Senate presidents were Iyocha Ayu and Ameh Ebute while the Speaker was Hon. Anakwo.
“Meanwhile, the NSCIA welcomes with pleasure the fact that CAN has finally agreed that the correct interpretation of the Section of the Constitution quoted in its letter to the National Assembly includes religious balancing.
“It is in this spirit that NSCIA calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to conduct a holistic census of all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including higher institutions, to determine whether there is anywhere Muslims constitute up to 30 percent of the staff strength and thereafter ensure compliance with the sections of the Constitution cited by CAN,” he said.
Be that as it may, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, seemed to have raised another issue at the weekend when he insisted that the South-West would no longer “take the back seat,” in the nation’s politics, given the immense roles it has played in national development. Ogunwusi spoke at his palace in Ile Ife, Osun State, on Saturday, March 30, when Abiodun Omoleye, the chief of staff to Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, delivered a lecture entitled, ‘Enculturation of the Yoruba Culture Among Youth: Implications on Social Reengineering and Good Governance.’
However, Rotimi Dakore, a lawyer and political analyst, in an interview, said there is no law in the Nigerian constitutional and the APC constitution which mandates the party to decide who should be the president of speaker of the House. “The National Assembly members have the right to elect their leaders. They know those who are competent, who have integrity and qualified to lead them, so, it is not the business of the party to intervene in who becomes what in the National Assembly.
“Besides, there is separation of power. So, the president does not have the right according to the constitution to determine who becomes the leaders of the National Assembly,” Dakore said.
Nevertheless, Yinusa Abubakar, a member of the House of Representative from Gombe State, has insisted that Buahri and the APC leadership must play a prominent role in the leadership configuration of the National Assembly. Abubakar argued that the party is supreme and using the platform to vie for elections, members must be ready to go along with the party’s directives on the zoning formula.
He also appealed to those who are interested in leadership positions of the NASS to place the country’s interest above their personal interest.
Indeed, whether the aspirants are going to bow to the wish of the party and respect the zoning formula as prescribed, it is only left to be seen. In the meantime, the APC will probably do well for itself it does not allow the 2015 experience to repeat itself.
– Apr. 5, 2019 @ 16:35 GMT |
Tags: Leadership Struggle in the House of Representatives
