•As Jibrin, Ndume, Izunaso, Kalu, others slug it out

By Dapo Akinrefon

The race for the 10th Senate Presidency is gathering steam as Senators from various geo-political zones have thrown their hats in the ring to emerge as the number three citizen of the country.

Though the All Progressives Congress, APC, is yet to zone the office, both old and new lawmakers are already jostling for the position.

The APC has a big role to play in the emergence of the next Senate President.

Interestingly, while some are of the view that the party leadership must avoid another Muslim-Muslim leader for the top job in Senate, others posit that competence and experience should form the basis for the plum job.

Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides for a bi-cameral legislature as follows: The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.”

In the Senate Standing Order 3, Rule 2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2022 as amended, provides that the nomination of presiding officers and appointments of Principal Officers and other Officers of the Senate shall be by the ranking of Senators.

In determining rank, the following Order shall apply.

(i) Senators returning based on the number of times reelected;
(ii) Senators who had been members of the House of Representatives,
(iii) Senators elected as Senators for the first time.”

APC in the majority

The APC has won 54 seats so far, while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has 27 seats.

Others are Labour Party with six seats, New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, two seats and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, two seats, while the Young Progressives Party, YPP, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, have one seat each.

Case for zoning

The South-East has been at the forefront of the campaign for the Senate Presidency as Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Orji Kalu and Senator David Umahi are insisting that the position must be zoned to the region. Osita Izunaso returns to the Seante and is older or will be the longest serving senator from the southeast and south-south in the chamber.

Some North-Central Senators-elect have thrown their hats in the ring following their argument that they contributed to the emergence of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Senate presidency aspirants

Currently, those eyeing the 10th Senate presidency include, serving Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North); Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East); Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North); Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North); Senator Godswill Akpabio (APC, Akwa Ibom North-West); Deputy Senate leader, Senator Abdul Ningi (APC, Bauchi Central); and Senator Abdul- Aziz Yari (APC, Zamfara);

Also, there are insinuations that Governor David Umahi (APC, Ebonyi South) and Mr Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), who would be first-time legislators are interested in becoming senate president.

For Umahi and Oshiomhole to succeed the ranking rule must be jettisoned.

Also, Senator Ali Ndume has declared his intention to run for the office. Osita Izunaso (APC, IMO) is also in the race.
The lawmakers have commenced subtle campaigns among their colleagues and governors.

Who is Tinubu’s choice?

While awaiting Tinubu’s return, senators have intensified efforts lobbying, and cajoling, lawmakers, members of the APC, and other stakeholders across the country for the top leadership slots in both chambers of the National Assembly.

Currently, the President-elect is abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of the May 29, 2023 inauguration.
It was reported that Tinubu would rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan fasting that began on March 23.

He is yet to announce his choice for both the Senate and House of Representatives but it is expected that the President-elect may consult with his lieutenants to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015.

In 2015, the failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari to take a stand timely on who to choose led to the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and the frosty relationship between the Executive and Legislature.

Tinubu, who is believed to be a good strategist, may not make such mistakes.

Orji Kalu

The former Abia State governor’s camp is optimistic that Tinubu would run an inclusive government by bringing on board APC political gladiators from the South-East geopolitical zone.

Supporters of Kalu, who is the Senate Chief Whip, opine that since Tinubu is aware that no Igbo person has been president since 1999, he would gladly welcome the idea of a south-easterner becoming the number three citizen.

Another argument by Kalu’s strategists is that apart from being an Igbo, Kalu, as a ranking principal officer should be favoured because he is a Christian.

Barau Jibrin

Senator Barau Jibrin, the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, is also believed to be in the race for Senate President.

Those making the case for Jibrin posit that the soft-spoken and easy-going politician has displayed his influence and strength in Kano politics by winning his election on the platform of the APC in the Kano Central Senatorial District.

Besides, they argue that he is the only APC candidate, who was able to weather the political tsunami of Musa Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, which won both Kano South and Kano North senatorial districts.

Jibrin had initially wanted to be Kano State governor but lost the ticket to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s preferred candidate.
He, however, showed that he was strong enough politically to weather the Kwankwasiya storm by emerging as the only APC senator-elect in Kano State.

Another factor, those promoting his aspiration argue, is that his zone contributed the most votes for the victory of APC in the February 25 general elections and therefore, should be considered and compensated over others with less, little or no contribution.

They argue that APC must focus on rewarding hard work over other compensatory sentiments such as religion and geography.

His canvassers also hold the view that the influence of Kano, which Senator Barau represents, cannot be easily discounted and wished away because of its importance in Nigerian politics.

Born in 1959, Senator Jibrin is a native of Kabo Township in the Kabo Local Government Area of Kano State.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s certificate in Financial Management and Pricing, a master’s certificate in Management, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He also holds a certificate in Financial Management for business decisions from the prestigious Cornell University, United States.

After his initial higher studies, the Senator worked briefly in the accounting department of the Kano State Foundation, before he resigned in 1992 to begin his private flourishing business with vast interests in the manufacturing, insurance and construction sectors of the Nigerian economy. His success in the private sector prepared him adequately to begin a process of championing the cause of his people through the instrumentality of politics.

Barau’s passion for his people motivated him to contest the election in 1999 to the House of Representatives to represent Tarauni Federal Constituency of Kano State which he won. While in the House of Representatives, he served as the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations. He was also a member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Power during that period.

After his tour of duty in the House of Representatives, he promptly went back to his private business, but not without sustaining his interest in the political engineering of his native Kano State.

Godswill Akpabio

interestingly, the former Minority Leader of the Senate is known to aim for the top wherever he finds himself.

As a first-timer in the Eighth Senate, Akpabio displaced a ranking senator, James Manager, to become a principal officer, the position he held until he defected to APC during Bukola Saraki’s tenure as Senate President. He later became Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs. He aspired for the presidential ticket of the APC but stepped down for Tinubu at the priamries of the party.

Adams Oshiomhole

The entrance of Adams Oshiomhole into the race was surprising to keen watchers of the political game playing out in the National Assembly.

Oshiomhole is a former APC national chairman, former two-term governor of Edo State, and erstwhile National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.

While it may not be easy for a first-timer to emerge as Senate President, those canvassing for his emergence insist anything is possible.

They also maintain that since the rule of the red chamber does not specifically state that only ranking senators can be Senate presidents, Oshiomhole is eminently qualified for the position.
Only time will tell how far he will go.

Abdulaziz Yari

Former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari is also eyeing the office of the Senate President.

Yari lost the opportunity of becoming a Senator in the 9th National Assembly, due to the Supreme Court verdict, which sacked all elected politicians on the platform of the APC following a face-off between his faction and that of Senator Kabiru Marafa.
Yari and Marafa are now both senators-elect.

As a first-time senator, it may not be easy for Yari to get the ticket when other ranking senators abound.

David Umahi

Governor Umahi of Ebonyi State will be in the Red Chamber for the first time as a Senator and he is already angling to be Senate President from the South-East geopolitical zone.

He is banking on the possibility that the office would be taken to the East.

Umahi, against all odds, defected to the APC in his bid to contest for the presidential ticket of the party. He lost to Tinubu at the primaries. He later won a fresh senatorial priamry when the candidate stepped down.

Osita Izunaso

Senator, Osita Izunaso from Imo West, is also in the race for the presidency of the Senate.
Izunaso disclosed his intention during the week when he presented his Certificate of Return to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa.

He hinted the President of his interest in seeking the top leadership position in the Senate.

Interestingly, Izunaso boasts that, as the most senior lawmaker from the South-East and South-South zones, he stands a better chance of becoming the next Senate President.

It is worthy to note that the Imo lawmaker retired the maverick politician, Senator Arthur Nzeribe after stopping him from getting the PDP ticket.

Asked about his chances against major contenders like
Senators Orji Uzor Kalu and Akpabio, he declined to speak, simply reiterating that he is the oldest and will await the party’s decision.