Prior to last Tuesday’s resumption of the Senate after a one-month adjournment, speculations were rife in some quarters that the pendulum had swung towards the emergence of the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as the next minority leader of the Senate.

Gov Akpabio

By Joseph Erunke

Those who knew the workings of the National Assembly, particularly, the Senate on the issue of ranking were quick to dismiss the rumour on the ground that there was a surplus of returning senators from his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who could fit the role.

This was mostly so, considering that he was not just coming to the Senate for the first time, but also, had never been elected at any point in his political career   to the legislature at any level – state or federal.

Those who canvassed the argument that Akpabio was a novice in the legislature and so, was not qualified for any principal office in the Senate, built their strength on the ground that the South South zone, where the position had been zoned to by the PDP Senate Caucus, had Senators James Manager and Thompson Sekibo, both representing Delta South and Rivers East senatorial zones respectively.

Senator Manager after the failure of Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba to return had become the highest ranking senator from the zone, having first been elected to the Senate in 2003. Senator Sekibo on the other hand, was first elected in 2007.

Person and credentials

So, when the news of the emergence of Senator Akpabio as Minority Leader, from the PDP Senate Caucus meeting held last Monday, filtered into the air, those who had dismissed Akpabio with the wave of the hand had a re-think about his person and credentials.

How did it happen? What were the criteria considered by the PDP Senate Caucus? Why did the PDP senators dump the Senate rule as regards ranking to pick Akpabio?

But the answer is simple, it is because the two most ranking senators from the South South geo-political zone, Manager and Sekibo, bluntly refused to concede the position to each other, thus giving the immediate past Akwa Ibom State helmsman the advantage to exploit their differences to push his case.

Akpabio was also helped with the argument that as the immediate past chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, PDP-GF, that he robustly elevated the status of the forum and that given the same opportunity that he would also do the same for PDP senators.

This is not to say that Akpabio, on his part was not interested in the position, and so, did not lobby for it at all. Few would have forgotten allegations that he blocked the re-election of senators from his state in the last election to ensure that no one would have higher ranking than him in the present Senate.

But the realization of Akpabio’s dream on Tuesday was not without the stiff resistance of both Senators Manager and Sekibo to concede the position to the other, after their other 15 colleagues from the region had given them the privilege to choose between one another who should be presented.

It was gathered that Sekibo stoutly opposed Manager’s selection on the fact of the emergence of Rep. Leo Ogor, as the House of Representatives Minority Leader given that Ogor is from Manager’s Delta South.

Presiding officer

Those supportive of Manager also made references to the fact that presiding officer slots for the South-South had in the past been monopolised by Rivers State in the persons of Chibudom Nwuche and Austin Opara.

Vanguard gathered that one of the combatants eventually got over to Akpabio and conceded the position to him at a meeting summoned by the South-South caucus last week. Following that a formal meeting of the South-South caucus was held on Monday where Akpabio was endorsed by 15 of the 17 PDP senators from the zone putting to shame the long esteemed rule of ranking.