As race for leadership of 9th NASS intensifies

Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly (NASS) on the 10th or 11th of June, race for the four presiding positions at both chambers has begun among ranking APC federal lawmakers. Taiye  Odewale puts up a prognosis.

Zones gear up

Though the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has not taken any official position or made any categorical pronouncement on which of the zones apart from North-west and South-west, the four presiding officers of the 9th National Assembly will come from but elected federal lawmakers from the affected zones have started making their intensions known.

In line with the principle of federal character and power sharing configuration in the country, since President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo come from North-west and South-west respectively, the presiding positions of the National Assembly i.e, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy Speaker, are expected to be zoned to the remaining four zones of North-east, North-central, South-east and South-south.

Little wonder that elected federal lawmakers from the zones on the platform of the APC which, has secured majority of the seats at both chambers for the coming 9th National Assembly, have started indicating their interests.

Ahmed Lawan

One of such was the open declaration made for the position of President of the 9th Senate by Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) last week Friday in Abuja.

In showcasing the support base for his aspiration among the APC senators-elect, totaling 64 for now, he came with nine of them among them were senators Aliyu Sabi  Abdullahi (Niger North), Muhammed Sani Musa (Niger East), Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia (Jigawa North East), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa North West), Bello Mandiya (Katsina South), Ahmed Baba Kaita  (Katsina North), Francis Alimekhena (Edo North), Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti central) and Teslim Folarin (Oyo central).

Aside the nine APC senators, the only senator-elect on the platform of Young Peoples Party (YPP), Ifeanyi Uba from Anambra South was also physically there for Ahmed Lawan.

His mission

Though Lawan, at the open declaration, did not mention the exact number of APC senators and others from PDP supporting his aspiration but stressed that the 10 senators were representatives of many others across party lines that have already keyed into his 9th Senate presidency project.

His words: “Let me start with those you see here. Certainly, this is just a representative of what number we have. And we are not talking about numbers. It is not the time yet for that kind of conversation.

“What we are going at the moment is to reach out to our colleagues senators-elect, talk with them, tell them our mission and why we are contending to take the leadership of the 9th Senate and by extension, the National Assembly.

“We also need to tell them why we need to make the Legislature in Nigeria, particularly the National Assembly more productive, focused and the need for all of us to work together. APC senators in this respect are so critical because that is our focus. But we will also reach out to other senators-elect from other political parties. So, this is a representation. This is not the number of senators that are supporting this cause. This is just introducing ourselves to you.

Believe in party supremacy

“Let me also say that we are senators who believe in party supremacy. We believe in the leadership of our party. But the leadership we are seeking is leadership of the Senate and the National Assembly. So, it is very critical and crucial that we talk to our colleagues, convince them that we are the right people to lead the Senate and the National Assembly.

“We take nobody for granted. We believe that the crop of senators elected this time will be such a crop that we can achieve much more in terms of uniting ourselves and focusing on the real issues of development, of making Nigerians experience very rapid and sustainable changes and transformation.

“We are not in any way thinking that we will start having some crisis. We are not even praying that that happens but our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) must have learnt its lessons. Therefore, I am sure the leadership of the party will do something differently. I am sure our leaders will try to manage this huge success of APC.

“I have no doubt that the party will find us compliant  and very supportive of the programmes of our party and our administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

Three likely candidates

Aside Ahmed Lawan gunning for the position of President of the 9th Senate, senators like Ali Ndume (Borno south) and Danjuma Goje (Gombe central) are also in the race from the same North East geo political zone, apart from Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa west), who is also in the race from North central.

The position of Deputy Senate President is being eyed by APC senators- elect from the entire three zones in the south.

For the Speakership of the House of Representatives, elected federal lawmakers from North-central and South-west are seriously lobbying for it, while their counterparts from the South-south and South-east, are positioning themselves for the position of deputy speaker.

However the factor of zoning by the APC national leadership and strategic plans being made by   PDP senators- elect, particularly in the Senate, may alter equation cum permutations of those that had already declared their interests.

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Aside Ahmed Lawan gunning for the position of President of the 9th Senate, senators like Ali Ndume (Borno south) and Danjuma Goje (Gombe central) are also in the race from the same North East geo political zone, apart from Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa west), who is also in the race from North central.

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