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Vanguard, THURSDAY APRIL 4, 2019 — 45
Raging battle for Ninth NASS
By Clifford Ndujihe
THE Ninth National Assembly
will be inaugurated in exactly
two months time but the tussle and
jostle for the various positions in
both chambers, especially the
principal offices, are going on at a
dizzying pace. While the
leadership of the ruling All
SENATE PRESIDENCY: PDP's plan to snatch majority status
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA-AHEAD of the
inauguration of the 9th Senate,
there are strong permutations by the
opposition Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, to snatch the majority
status from the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC.
The PDP Senators as alleged are
planning to replay the 2015 scenario
by poaching 13 APC returning and
new senators to forestall the
emergence of Senator Ahmad
Lawan as the President of the 9th
Senate.
It was gathered that the
information leaked when two
senators approached to be arrow
heads of the plans felt uncomfortable
and alerted both the party hierarchy
and the campaign team of Senator
Ahmad Lawan.
According to a source, the two
senators, a returning member and a
fresher, are to lead PDP to their
unnamed colleagues from
Adamawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi,
Gombe, Kano and Kebbi for their
buy-in and subsequent
implementation of the plan.
Part of the plans as gathered is
that PDP has designed a blueprint
for their members to back a
returning APC Senator from Gombe
for the Senate Presidency with the
support of the 13 APC Senators
already pencilled down, with alleged
mouth-watering monetary rewards
that would see them through the
resultant party blacklist while in
office as well as their lives in
retirement would be offered.
It was further gathered that the
two Senators said that although
they were doubtful of the success of
the PDP plans this time because most
By Levinus Nwabughiogu
BUJA-Erstwhile members of the
AHouse of Representatives have
asked political parties and other
influential individuals to keep away
from the leadership tussles between
the lawmakers, saying it was their
exclusive right to choose their
leaders.
The members, who spoke under
the aegis of 'Faculty Board of
Initiative', a group made up of
serving and former members to
promote core values of the
legislature said that all external
interferences in the House leadership
election process would be
resisted.“Briefing National Assembly
correspondent on Wednesday, the
Dean of the Initiative, Hon. Eseme
Eyibo, former Chairman, House
Committee on Media and Publicity
in the 6th assembly said that the
concept of the separation of powers
and independence of the legislature
must be upheld.
He said that elections marked the
end for party politics, stressing that
governance has set in.
Going down memory lane, Eyibo
applauded the process that produced
former Speakers Ghali N'abba,
Dimeji Bankole, Aminu Tambuwal
and Yakubu Dogara, saying it
Progressives Congress, APC,
appears to foot-drag on zoning the
various offices, having emerged as
the majority party, the opposition
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
seems to be waiting for a slip to
make a kill from any commission
or omission that could re-enact
what happened in 2015 when the
APC leadership's preferred
•Lawan
APC senators have made up their
minds to support Senator Lawan for
the position of Senate President and
Senator Francis Alimikhena, APC,
Edo North for the position of Deputy
Senate President.
It is said that based on this
development, the opposition camp
is divided as a sizeable number was
candidates did not win the Senate
Presidency and House of
Representatives speakership. Some
of the aspirants have vowed to
contest for the senate presidency
and speakership regardless of the
zoning arrangement of the APC
leadership.
Currently, no fewer than 17
members-elect are angling to
ready to support their candidate.
On why he refused the offer and
his readiness to support Senator
Ahmad Lawan, the ranking Senator
said: "At the moment, Lawan is the
candidate to beat using well known
international parliamentary best
practices and parameters. All odds
Keep off Reps' leadership tussle –
Lawmakers warn APC, PDP, others
typified the independence of the
legislature.
He insisted that members of the
House of Representatives of the 9th
National Assembly must be given
the free land to elect their leaders,
adding that Nigerians want a House
leadership that must reflect the
wishes of the people.
He said: "There has to be a
leadership recruitment process
premised on certain qualities and
these qualities must be the issues of
the core values of the institution,
acceptability and ability to galvanize
the overall interest of the membership
of the House of Representatives as
represented by powers vested in it in
according accordance with section
4(1) of the Constitution.
"We request the media to kindly let
all the parties know that what we
are saying from this end is that
whoever desires to be or whoever is
sponsored or whoever in the
circumstance may become the
Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the leader or any of
the leadership positions should be be
able to the following.
"Democracy is the issue of the rule
of law and because it is so, whoever
is expected to be the first among
equals in the preservation and
protection of the rule of law via the
legislature must be somebody who
is acceptable, who has a standard
of behaviour, that will be able to
carve a nexus between the governed
and government, that will also
become a bridge where there will be
less conflict within and without.
"Our responsibility and that of the
constitution is to make sure that the
legislature is not given a cloned
leadership, something which bares
the semblance of its true legislative
identity is what we seek.
"But to ensure that leaders are
chosen by members from among
themselves by themselves without
any encumbrances of external
interference. This essentially
guarantees the principle of
separation of powers which created
the tripod upon which the three Arms
of government rests.
"The history of the leadership of the
House is clear and unambiguous.
So, whoever is coming into it newly
must be able to know that regardless
that time has changed yesterday,
today still remains the flourishing
future if this country and this
country will ever be great if and only
we allow this path of the
independence of the legislature, the
stability of the legislature and of
course , separation of powers should
be allowed to stay.
become the next speaker just as
Senator Ali Ndume is kicking
against the party's decision to
endorse Senator Ahmad Lawan as
Senate President.
Early in the week, Senate
President Bukola Saraki and
Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the
independence of the legislature
was non-negotiable adding that
are in his favour in terms of
experience in the administration of
the legislature in this country. He has
been in the National Assembly in
the last 20 years. His achievements
at the Committee level are
unassailable. Remember the engine
room of legislation is the Committee
stage. Don’t forget he has a Ph.D.”
According to the Senator- elect,
the candidacy of Senator Lawan
should not be opposed because “in
all parliaments, be it in the
Presidential System or
Parliamentary System the world over,
leadership or presiding officers
emerge based on their experiences
as leaders of the caucuses. Thus,
when a party gains a majority after
a general election into Parliament,
the leader of the caucus of such a
party in the legislature transforms to
be the President or Speaker of such
parliament in a seamless process. It
is an established practice and all
stakeholders should make sure we
Hon Mohammed Umar Bago,
45, APC, Chachanga Federal
Constituency of Niger State, is a
third timer in the House of
Representatives. In this chat, he
spoke on his ambition and why the
North Central zone of Nigeria must
produce the next speaker. He said
on Tuesday that if the APC had
zoned the speaker's position to the
South-East he would not have
bothered to run for the office. Bago
disclosed this at a cocktail he
hosted for new and returning
House members in Abuja. "I won't
be in this race in the first place if
this position was zoned to the
South- East because I will see
equity in it but for it to be zoned to
South-West there is no equity at
all.
"The vice president is from South
West and you want the speaker too
to come from Lagos, no that's not
equity. "I am in this race because
of this inequity that the North-
Central has suffered for over 20
years.'' While receiving leaders of
the National Association of
Nigerian Students NANS led by its
President, Comrade Bamidele
Danielson Akpan in his campaign
secretariat in Abuja, yesterday,
Bago said nothing will stop him
from contesting for the seat."There
is no retreat, no surrender.
Honestly speaking, we are in for
this game and it is nonnegotiable.”
By Emman Ovuakporie
What is your legislative agenda
for the 9th House, if elected
speaker?
I have what I code named the Bago
plan which covers virtually all the
segments of government.
My first strategy is to promote and
deepen a robust relationship with all
arms of government and stake
holders.
Secondly, there is going to be
concerted effort to tangibly impact
our constituents and constituencies.
the lawmakers would choose their
leaders, themselves, at the
appropriate time. Below are the
plans of some of the aspirants for
the speakership position, and
PDP's moves to get the upper hand
in the National Assembly among
other issues dotting permutations
and posturing for the leadership of
the Ninth federal legislature.
act in conformity with the
international standard in this
respect."
The Senator- elect, who has,
however, called on other senators to
engage topmost leaders of their
parties on the need to allow
international best parliamentary
practices and the Rule of Senate
guide the process of emergence of the
Principal Officers, said: "They also
discussed with us the revival of the
“Like Minds Group” of 2015 and
their various social media campaign
of calumny, most especially their
deliberate attempt to link a national
leader of APC to the emergence of
Senator Ahmad."
The source said that PDP falsely
maintained at the meeting that
Ahmad Lawan would turnout to be
a stooge of the APC national leader
and that disinformation would turn
the tide against the candidature of
Senator Ahmad Lawan.
REPS: I am aspiring to ensure
equity, justice – Bago
I will equally work towards an
independent legislature free from
rancour. I will promote an open and
transparent legislature with
legislative support for the fight
against corruption, insecurity and
revamping of economy.
What are you going to do about
obsolete laws that are fast
rubbishing our democracy?
That is also part of what we will
look into and it is part of the Bago
plan. Our electoral laws will be
adequately overhauled to avoid
inconclusive elections in future
electoral processes. I will also ensure
a harmonious working relationship
with the National Assembly
bureaucracy at all levels.
It is said that your zone has been
massively marginalised in the
House of Representatives since
1999, could this be the reason you
are contesting?
As you can see I do not have a
godfather so I am going to operate
from bottom to top.
As for the marginalisation of my
zone, the facts are there for you to
see. We have never produced a
speaker for 20years and in the last
election we are rated third in terms
of votes garnered for the party.
If the position of speaker is zoned
out of our zone then it is a glaring
injustice to us. We have worked hard
for our party.
•Hon Mohammed Umar Bago