Politics
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As Senate begins its fourth legislative session after a two-week recess, all eyes are now focused on it as the nation awaits the confirmation of the four ministerial nominees sent to it by President Jonathan in May
| By Vincent Nzemeke | Jul. 7, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
AFTER a two-week recess, legislative activities resumed at the National Assembly on Tuesday June 24, 2014. Law makers at the Senate and House of Representatives went on the two-week break to mark the end of the third legislative session of the 7th National Assembly. As the fourth session begins, all eyes are on the Senate, otherwise known as the upper legislative chamber.
The Senate is expected to screen and confirm four ministerial nominees whose names were forwarded to it by President Goodluck Jonathan on its last plenary before the recess. The ministerial nominees are, Ibrahim Shekarau, former Kano State Governor, Stephen Oru, National Vice Chairman, South-South zone of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abdu Bulama and Adedayo Adeyeye.
The nominees are expected to fill the ministerial slots of Kano, Delta, Yobe and Ekiti states which became vacant after Jonathan dropped the ministers from the states. In his letter to the Senate which was read by David Mark, Senate President, Jonathan requested that the nominees be screened and confirmed in line with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution.
“In accordance with section 147 (2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, I have the honour to forward the under-listed ministerial nominees for consideration and for Senate confirmation,” the letter read.
Although the screening and eventual confirmation of the nominees are expected to be a formality, Shekarau is seen as the big elephant in the room and his nomination is generating interest from various quarters. The former Kano state helmsman, who defected from the leading opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the PDP in February this year, is believed to have been nominated by Jonathan for political reasons.
Before Shekarau’s defection to the PDP, the President had nominated Jamilla Salik and Aminu Wali to fill the Kano State ministerial slots when he sent a list of 12 nominees to the Senate in February. But following his move to the ruling party, Salik was mysteriously dropped from the list while other nominees such as retired General Aliyu Gusau from Zamfara State, Musiliu Obanikoro, Lagos and Wali were cleared by the Senate and subsequently appointed ministers.
Shekarau’s appointment is regarded by political watchers as a plot by President Jonathan to check the growing influence of Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwakwanso, one of the five governors who dumped the PDP for the APC last year. Regarded as the most populous state in northern Nigeria, Kano is also a strategic zone for any presidential candidate because it has the highest number of voters in the region.
By nominating Shekarau, who enjoys a cult followership in Kano for a ministerial post, many believe Jonathan is making moves to capture the state in the 2015 presidential election. Other than protecting Jonathan’s interest, Shekarau’s ministerial appointment is also expected to renew his political battle with Kwakwanso. There is no love lost between Shekarau and Kwakwanso who had faced each other twice in keenly contested elections. Their rivalry dates back to 2002 when Shekarau was demoted from his post as a permanent secretary to a principal during Kwakwanso’s first term as governor of Kano State.
Angered by the humiliation, Shekarau ventured into politics and earned the sympathy of the people. He threw his hat into the ring and contested the 2003 governorship election on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and defeated Kwakwanso, who was seeking a second-term mandate. Shekarau spent eight years in the saddle and became the first governor to enjoy two terms in the state. At the expiration of his tenure in 2011, Shekarau lost his bid to plant his successor in office as Kwakwanso won the election and returned for a second tenure.
Since then, both men have been in different political camps until November 2013 when Kwakwanso alongside some other PDP governors cross-carpeted to the APC where Shekarau was a prominent figure. The APC house soon became too small for the two political gladiators to operate thereby forcing Shekarau to defect to the PDP.
Shekarau’s defection was a protest over the decision of the leadership of the APC to handover the state’s party structure to Kwkwanso who had just joined the party. He defied several pleas from the APC national leadership to stay back. With Shekarau as the only high profile nominee on the list, it is expected that the screening and confirmation of the other three nominees will pass smoothly.
Oru, another ministerial nominee, is a prominent Delta state politician, who was elected as the South South zonal vice chairman of the PDP last year. Before then, he served as Assistant Secretary of the Delta State Chapter of the party. He is expected to fill the vacuum created by the exit of Godsday Orubebe, former minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Adedayo Adeyeye is a grassroots politician from Ekiti State. He was also the publicity secretary of Afenifere socio-political group. His nomination is expected to help the PDP to consolidate its grip on the state where Ayo Fayose, its candidate, was recently elected governor.
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