By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Ben Agande & Henry Umoru
LAGOS—A POWER showdown between the National Assembly and Governors was in the offing last night after the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, SCRC, resolved to uphold provisions of the Electoral Act that has drawn the flaks of the nation’s 36 Governors.

While upholding the order of elections as endorsed by the House of Representatives that puts the National Assembly and presidential primaries ahead of gubernatorial primaries the senators, however, resolved to ply a middle course on the issue of membership of the National Executive Committees of the political parties.

Northern govs meet

The Northern Governors met ahead of the enlarged meeting of the nation’s 36 Governors where the issue was expected to be further articulated.

Also, the 37 chairmen of the State chapters of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were last night enclosed in a meeting where the issue was also being articulated. Some of the chairmen who spoke to Vanguard said the meeting would determine the approach the body of State chairmen would take at today’s meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the PDP.

A senior staff of the committee who confirmed the development to Vanguard, yesterday, said the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, SCRC, which articulated the proposed amendment in its resolution at the close of a scheduled meeting which ended about 7.20 p.m. resolved to limit membership of the NECs of political parties to one senator and one member of the House of Representatives per State.

The Senate Committee also resolved to uphold the order of primaries passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate committee decision, Vanguard learnt, was to fit in with the order of election as enshrined in the Constitution amendment earlier passed.

In the order of primaries, the National Assembly is to hold first, then the presidential primaries followed by the governorship and State Houses of Assembly.

It was further learnt last night that a delegation of senators is to be dispatched by the Senate to plead for understanding with the more trenchant House of Representatives on the issue of soft pedaling on the issue of membership of the NEC to avoid what sources said could be a constitutional crisis yesterday.

The Senate is due to pass the 2010 Electoral Act Amendment bill today just as the House of Representatives. The passage of the bill by the two houses was assured after the earlier doubts arising from proposals by the Presidency that President Goodluck Jonathan would present the 2011 budget proposals to the National Assembly today.

Senator Kaka Yale Mallam from Borno State who ventilated his view told Vanguard said the imperative of putting National Assembly members in the NEC had become necessary following the determination of governors to exclude them.

Another senator from Bauchi State who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “We will not be intimidated by the orchestrated campaign by governors who are holding the party to ransom. We will go ahead and pass the amendment and let’s see whether the president will not sign the Bill into law. The whole idea of this amendment is to serve as a counter force to the overwhelming influence of the governors.

They decide who becomes member of the state Houses of Assembly, who becomes local government chairman, who becomes minister and who becomes the president. We cannot allow a few people decide our fate politically for ever.”

Vanguard gathered that the idea of members of the National Assembly being members of the party’s national executive council was actually the baby of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, with the subtle support of the Presidency.

Counter voice to governors

A senator who spoke with Vanguard stated that “the national chairman of the PDP met with the leadership of the National Assembly and brought the idea of the amendment. His condition was that there should be a way that the National Assembly would serve as a counter voice to the governors but the National Assembly should not overwhelm the NEC. The problem  now is the number of representation from the National Assembly. We will not allow ourselves to be brow beaten by the blackmail of the governors.”

Insisting on the validity of the action of the Senate, Senator Mallam said: “As far as I am concerned this is a non_issue. It is not something that we should legislate upon but if the governors are opposed to National Assembly being members of the NEC of their parties, then it means they have something to hide so National Assembly members must be members of NEC of the parties.”

Spokesman of the Senate, Senator Ayogu Eze told Vanguard that though the Bill would be tabled ‘and possibly passed’ today (Tuesday), ‘I do not have a comment on the position of the governors because the decision to pass the bill or not rests with the whole Senate and the Senate has not met on it’.

Meanwhile, Northern Governors at the end of their meeting resolved that the proposed amendment to the electoral bill could spell doom for the nation’s democracy. Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, yesterday, Chairman of the Forum and Niger State Governor, Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu, warned that politicians must concentrate on issues that will lead to national development of the country and not those that will disrupt the nation’s democracy or retard growth.

Engendering national development

Part of the Communiqué at the end of the meeting read: “The forum called on the political actors to be focused on issues that will engender national development and the consolidation of democratic gains in the nation, stressing that national interest should be the guiding principle. The forum called on people to be very vigilant, to protect and defend democracy and avoid political bickering that will give room for those who do not wish the nation well to take advantage of the differences and disagreements.”

The Chairman who explained that the shift of meeting venue from its normal Kaduna was for convenience and not due to insecurity in Kaduna, said: “The decision was also in consonance with the Forum’s resolution to rotate its meeting among member States in alphabetical order, starting with Adamawa or any State that is readily prepared to volunteer to host members, while Kaduna remains the headquarters and the secretariat as coordinating centre.

This decision was taken in the spirit of brotherliness, experience sharing, unity of purpose and to enable members peer review the activities of one another and monitor the implementation status of the numerous decisions taken by the Forum on diverse issues, such as Education, Health; Agriculture and Economic Summits.
Meanwhile, the Forum has agreed to hold the next meeting in Yola, Adamawa State on 27th_28th January, 2011.”

According to Aliyu, the Forum which also agreed to increase the frequency of its meetings in view of the prevailing economic prosperity to foster the desired development, peace and progress of the North and the Country in general, however commended the Federal Government for the committee set up to examine the issues surrounding the taking and handing over of New Nigeria Newspaper by the Federal government.

The forum also expressed condolence to the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on the death of his wife, Clara. Present at the meeting were governors of Niger, Nasarawa; Kogi; Adamawa; Sokoto; Kaduna, Kwara, Kebbi and Zamfara. Also in attendance were the deputy governors of Gombe and Kano while the governors of Benue and Jigawa sent apologies.