For Abbo, who appears as the face of ‘opposition’ and impeachment threat on what are spurious grounds, it will be better for him to take his prestigious senate committee chairmanship of Culture and Tourism to greater heights and juicy level instead of embarking on an uncalled-for agenda of heating up the legislative house
By Kayode Odunaro
The 10th Senate that was inaugurated on June 13, 2023 with the election of Senator Godswill Akpabio as President of the Senate and Senator Jubrin Barau as Deputy Senate President started serious legislative work before it went for its annual recess. It had concluded the major assignment of ministerial screening where it screened and confirmed 45 out of 48 ministerial nominees in an exercise that lasted late into the nights and on unofficial days. The ministerial assignment ended with the momentous and highly anticipated appointment of chairmen and vice chairmen of the senate various committees.
For the new leadership of the Senate, it was a tension-soaked period shortly after the high staked campaign and election of the presiding officers. With the twists and turns of the ministerial screening, the Akpabio led Senate was able to discharge itself creditably having successfully constituted the principal officers for the majority ruling party, APC and the minority leadership for the uniquely variegated minority political parties of the senate. The dicey assignment to conclude alongside the ministerial screening was the constitution of the leadership of the 74 Standing Committees of the Senate.
From experience, this assignment of appointment of the leadership of the committees usually molds and influences the tempo and success of the senate. Also, the assignment is a fulcrum of schisms among senators who may have a vested interest and fixation in chairing some committees. In this wise, it is usually a “banana peel” that triggers agitation for change of presiding officers. For the Akpabio led Senate with all principal officers of all parties of the Senate as Selection Committee, it was a painstaking job that was done with the hindsight of experience to guard against any banana peel slip. When the list of chairmen and their various vice chairmen were announced shortly after the confirmation of ministers dovetailing into a an 8- week recess, it was with a huge sigh of relief as the composition of the list apparently bent backwards to take care of virtually all possible interests of senators including those that contested the office of the presidency of the senate.
Unlike in some instances of previous Senate where the Selection Committee played a game of mostly winner takes all leaving many disaffected and bitter, key senators that were in contest for various leadership positions in opposing camp to the victorious Akpabio-Barau ticket got strategic committees which in some journalistic parlance are called “juicy committees” or Grade A committees. For instance, Senator Abdul-aziz Abubakar Yari (APC, Zamfara West) who contested for the position of President of the Senate with a remarkable showing got the important Senate Committee on Water Resources. Senator Aminu Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto South) another political heavy weight and a former presiding officer in House of Representatives in opposing camp got the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development. A key figure in the opposition camp against the Akpabio-Barau ticket in the run up to election of presiding officers, Senator Ishaku Abbo Elisha (APC, Adamawa North) got the prestigious Senate Committee of Culture and Tourism. Other ranking and critical senators in the opposing camp that got relevant committees are Senator Adamu Aliero, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Magatakarda Wammako, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Shehu Buba, Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Senator Abdul Ningi, Senate Committee on National Identity and Population Commission, Senator Dankwambo Ibrahim, Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics and Senator Ahmad Lawan, the President of the 9th Senate, got the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Defense.
Beyond chairmanship of committees which was distributed to favour all political parties in the Senate, virtually all senators got vice chairman of “juicy committee”. In any case, all committee are juicy depending on the capacity of the chairman and his members to think outside the box. A parliamentary reference point of this assertion is the Committee of Diaspora initially introduced to the House of Representatives in the 6th National Assembly headed by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa. It was touted a non-juicy committee. Through the ingenuity and hard work of Hon. Dabiri-Erewa, the committee became a force to be reckoned with and through her efforts an executive agency was created that she presently heads. In the Senate history, many were not aware of the Local Content Committee that was running quietly in the House of Representatives until Senator Solomon Adeola was appointed as its pioneer chairman in the 8th Senate. His investigative work brought the activity of the committee and its relevance to the fore, revealing again that it is the capacity and hard work of the leadership of a committee that determines its ‘juiciness’.
For all perceptive observers, the allegations for impeachment plot looks ludicrous for a Senate that is just about to gain altitude in its legislative agenda. Many saw it as the antics of a minor clique still mired in the era of business as usual at a time when the nation and the people are faced with massive challenges requiring urgent and fixated efforts from all arms of government for resolution. This was more so as no senator was linked by name to the story
It was an elated Akpabio that announced the list of committee chairmen and vice chairmen which sign posted the full commencement of work for the 10th Senate. Full work, however, was to start from the time the Senate resume from its annual recess on September 26. Members of the Senate were expected to rest from the rigours of campaigns, election, formation of the Senate leadership and the ministerial screening and confirmation. No one expected any restlessness from any member within the period of recess with the committee chairmanship selection done to the satisfaction of virtually all or at least a majority of members.
But midway into the recess a story surfaced in three major newspapers, namely Leadership, Vanguard and New Telegraph, purporting a plot to unseat Akpabio as President of the Senate. The unattributed story, which was giving some prominence, disclosed that the brains behind the plot are two senators from the North West and the initial allegations occasioning the plot according to the newspapers were the inexplicably announced leave allowance for senators, which was made to appear as a favour and some personal misgivings about some committee chairmanship. This was immediately discountenance by the newly appointed Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to the Senate President, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh as purely in the imagination of the author(s) of the plot and not a reality.
For all perceptive observers, the allegations for impeachment plot looks ludicrous for a Senate that is just about to gain altitude in its legislative agenda. Many saw it as the antics of a minor clique still mired in the era of business as usual at a time when the nation and the people are faced with massive challenges requiring urgent and fixated efforts from all arms of government for resolution. This was more so as no senator was linked by name to the story.
However, a few days later the plot was given a face with Senator Abbo, the chairman of Senate committee on Culture and Tourism beating his chest as the face of an impeachment plot. According to him, in addition to the earlier allegations and grouse, Akpabio planned ouster is now premised on his inability to stop the appointment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu! In all my survey of reasons adduced for attempts, successful or otherwise, for ouster of presiding officers of Nigeria parliament at the highest and indeed other levels none have been as ludicrous and unintelligent as the charge of Akpabio not using his office to stop a purely constitutional function of the leadership of an arm of government. According to our 1999 Constitution, the President have the right to make appointments, some of which are subject to parliamentary confirmation, particularly confirmation of the Senate. As Abbo must know, such legislative duty is not at the fiat of the president of the Senate but a process that involves the senate as an institution. Indeed, such confirmation is usually to ascertain the qualifications and suitability of persons nominated by the president and not a platform to stop appointments on the basis of tribe, region or religion. At no point will a Senate confirmation of appointment dovetails to such issues as ‘Fulanisation’, ‘Yorubanisation’, ‘Christainisation’ or ‘Islamisation’. And to expect a President of the Senate touted as uncommon to lead an uncommon charge of the Senate rejecting presidential nominations on ludicrous grounds is to say the least an ill thought expectation. And making it a ‘crime’ for impeachment plot against Akpabio shows the lack of seriousness or genuineness of purpose of those behind the plot.
But beyond the purposelessness of the charge, one can read a more sinister import into the needless attempt to cause schisms in the Senate at all cost. It may really not be about Akpabio senate presidency but a plot to undermine the government of President Tinubu through crippling his administration’s appointments and policies by the National Assembly. The opposition, that are still unrelenting against the election and inauguration of President Tinubu and his recent victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, may want to undermine his government through the parliament. Thankfully the President of the 10th Senate has vowed to support every executive effort to solve the myriads of challenges facing the nation. In his words recently at the retreat for National Assembly leadership in Akwa Ibom State, Senator Akpabio, using the football club lingo of Liverpool Club said leadership of the Senate would not allow the executive to “walk alone” in the task of executing the renewed hope agenda for our people.
For Abbo, who appears as the face of ‘opposition’ and impeachment threat on what are spurious grounds, it will be better for him to take his prestigious senate committee chairmanship of Culture and Tourism to greater heights and juicy level instead of embarking on an uncalled-for agenda of heating up the legislative house. I commend his recent outing using his position to weigh in on the regrettable death of the popular musician, MohBad, and a promise of legislative intervention to regulate artiste-manager relationship. That is a more worthy application of his senatorial chairmanship for greater good than plotting impeachment on the behest of forces after personal interests in a nation faced with developmental challenges requiring urgent actions. There is much work for the 10th Senate to do than be distracted by some power mongers.
Chief Kayode Odunaro is a Legislative Affairs Commentator, Abuja
kayodunaro@hotmail.com
