Senate Presidency: Who Wears the Crown?

By Eric Elezuo

In less than one week, the 109 members of Nigeria’s upper chamber, the Senate, will assemble to elect one of their own as their president, to supervise the activities of not just the 10th Senate, but the 10th National Assembly (NASS) comprising the senate and the House of Representatives.

Presently, tempers are high as regards who is fit to bear the toga of Senate President even as the the camp of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are in disarray over zoning.

With the inauguration of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidency, it was believed that the stage will be set for a smooth transition from the ninth to the 10th Senate, but that is not to be.

Prior to the present, the Tinubu administration had anointed certain members of the party to take the leadership of the National Assembly, especially party members to follow suit, while cajoling members of the opposition to also toe their line. However, the choices of the party have not resonated perfectly with other members, who are nursing the interest to grab the plum position. While the party chose former Akwa Ibom State governor, and former Minister of the Niger Delta, Chief Godswill Akpabio as it’s preferred candidate for the presidency,  other interested parties are not having any of it, thereby creating a huge dissension in the party.

The likes of former Abia State governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari and Osira Izunaso, all ranking members of the senate, are also interested in the position, and seem not to agree in the supremacy of the party in this regard.

The APC has, in its wisdom zoned the presidency to the Christian South considering the both the president and the vice president are Muslims. While the president is from southwest, the Vice president is from the northeast. Consequently, the northwest, represented by Mr Yari, and believing they have a greater stake for giving Tinubu a larger number of votes, should be considered above all others. The southeast block, which Uzor Kalu claim to represent, are asking for equity, saying the Igbo deserve the third highest ranking position in the country. Izunaso is also from the southeast.

But with mounting opposition to the anointing of Akpabio, report says that Tinubu may have revoked his support for the former Niger Delta Minister. This is following the protests of senate whip, Uzor Orji Kalu, and Abdulaziz Yari.

Kalu and Yari have said they are still in the race for senate president, with the former governor of Abia hinting at an alliance with the former.

Again, the APC National chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, had also admitted that the leadership of the party had not consulted widely concerning the issue.

The chairman said the party was reviewing the nominations to see if the decision could be reversed.

“We must as democrats open up. We will go back to the drawing board. We owe our party that duty to take a look whether what was done can be changed; what was done needs some changes or reviews,” Adamu said.

The chairman’s stand spoke volumes of the fact that party leadership was divided over the nominations, giving a clear indication that every interested candidate may be on his own as the election day draws nearer. A source told TheCable however, that a meeting of the party’s leadership has been fixed for Thursday to find a solution to the impasse.

But whichever way the election goes next week, one of these four men will most likely head the 10th National Assembly

GODSWILL OBOT AKPABIO

Formerly a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he served as two terms governor of Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015, Akpabio was born on December 9, 1962. Originally trained as a lawyer, he was elected into the senate after his tenure as governor, and rose to become the minority leader. He later served as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs after defectingvto the APC in 2018, from 2019 to May 2022 when he resigned to contest the ticket of his party for the 2023 presidential election. He however stepped down for the eventual winner, Bola Tinubu, on the day of the primary election. 

Akpabio was revered as the uncommon governor while his days lasted in Akwa Ibom for some of the gigantic strides he took in his administration.

However, Akpabio is bedeviled with a corruption baggage, which is not sitting well with members of his party. Much as he was originally anointed as the party’s choice, oppositions are trailing his candidacy. It is on record that Akpabio did not contest the ticket of his party for the Senatorial election as he was contesting the presidency

ORJI UZOR KALU

Also a former two terms governor, Kalu governed Abia State between 1999 and 2007 under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was elected into the senate on the platform of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA), a party he formed. Presently,  he is the House Chip Whip while representing Abia Nortg Senatorial District.

Aside being a politician, Kalu, who was born on April 21, 1960, is also a businessman, who owns SLOK Holding, the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers.

Like most politicians, Kalu also has corruption baggage, and was convicted by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court in December 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for N7.65 billion fraud. He was convicted for defrauding the government of Abia State using his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.

In May 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that his trial was wrongly conducted and released him from prison while ordering a retrial. The retrial is yet to hold.

ABDULAZIZ YARI

Probably the youngest of the quad at 55, Yari served as governor of Zamfara State from 2011 to 2019. He was first elected on the platform of the the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) before becoming amber of APC following a merger. Yari is among the school of thought that believes the northwest deserves the senate presidency, and him the right candidate even as he is assuming Senatorial duties for the first time.

Zamfara, the state he governed for eight remains the one of the poorest states in Nigeria.

OSITA IZUNASO

Representing Imo West Senatorial district, Izunaso prides himself as the most experienced and highest ranked of all South South and Southeast senators.

He believes he has a robust and outstanding legislative and National Assembly experience spanning from 1992 when he served as the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of House of Representatives to 1999 when he was appointed as the Chief Press Secretary to the President of the Senate. He is the only one among the four, who has not held executive powers, but has consistently remained in the legislative corridors as a lawmaker.

Izunaso once survived a recall by his constituency in 2009, and ever since, has remained in the legislative Chambers.