• Furore in opposition party over NASS leadership
•Ekweremadu, Melaye in contention for minority leader
Olukorede Yishau, Associate Editor and ‘Dare Odufowokan,
Some
All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators-elect are suspecting the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of plotting a secret ballot voting system
to hijack the leadership of the National Assembly.APC
senators-elect, who pleaded anonymity, said the PDP was perfecting this
plot ahead of the inauguration of the 9th session in June.There is disquiet in PDP itself as interest groups root for different candidates as the next minority leader of the Red Chamber.
Three
candidates are already in contention for the position. They are the
current deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu, Senator Dino Melaye
(Kogi West) and Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo Central).An APC
senator-elect accused the PDP of “already laying political landmines in
the path of APC” with a view to having the legislative gavel by proxy.The
source said: “While the opposition party cannot reinvent the wheel in
terms of the colouration of the legislature during the 9th session of
National Assembly, it is trying to foist on the winning party, the
Senate in particular, APC candidates that would do its bidding, using
the Rule Book of National Assembly to achieve it.“In
implementing the plan, members of the opposition, with a large war chest
made available by those being investigated by anti-corruption agencies,
are ready to infiltrate National Assembly bureaucracy to perfect their
plan.”A ranking APC Senator said: “PDP is using their
chieftains. They will begin the implementation of the two-pronged plan
by engaging the top echelon of National Assembly bureaucracy and some
APC Senators-elect for their buy-in on the need to continue the use of
the forged 2015 Rule Book, especially its secret ballot provision, which
paved the way for the emergence of the current Senate President, Bukola
Saraki against the directives of his then party-APC“You know
the former Clerk of the Senate allowed the forged Rule Book to be used
during the inauguration of the 8th Senate as he capitalised on the
absence of APC Senators in the red chamber and to complicate the
situation Senator Saraki insisted on using the forged book after he was
sworn in as the Senate President.“Remember that secret voting
provision was smuggled into the forged Rule Book used for the 2015
elections despite our protest because secret voting is alien to
parliamentary practices. When it comes to voting in the parliaments
worldwide, open voting is used.“What is now expected of the
current Clerk of the National Assembly is not to use the forged book for
the inauguration of the 9th Session of the Senate, come June this year.“What
happened in 2015 inauguration will not repeat itself because we shall
all be present during this year’s inauguration and we shall not allow
the forged Rule Book to be used. We will insist on open voting as
practised in all parliaments in the world and the National Assembly
bureaucracy has already been put on notice.”A senator-elect
explained: “We underrated the capacity of PDP to go to any length to
achieve its aims and objectives during 2015 elections of presiding
officers of the National Assembly while we were totally naïve about the
crucial role of the bureaucracy in the scheme of things in the
legislature, a situation that turned the table in favour of the
opposition despite being in the minority. We are aware of their
political manoeuvres and ready to expose sources of funds for their
National Assembly intervention.”Ekweremadu, Melaye in contention for minority leader
Three
Senators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
are leading the race for the Minority Leader position in the forthcoming
9th session of the Senate, according to feelers from the party.Topping the list is the outgoing Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
Also in contention are Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo Central).
Rooting for each of them are diverse groups in the PDP.
Sources
told The Nation that while the party leadership appears to be heavily
in favour of Ekweremadu emerging as minority leader in view of his vast
experience, some other groups in the party have different ideas on who
should occupy the position.The party leadership’s decision, it
was gathered, may not be unconnected with the desire for a strong
personality to lead the PDP in the next dispensation, as part of a
larger plan to hijack the leadership of the National Assembly at an
appropriate time.A party chieftain from the Southeast said the PDP believes Ekweremadu has the ability to keep the APC on its toes.
“The
PDP plans to give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) serious
opposition in the next dispensation,” the party chieftain said.“We
want to prove that we have what it takes to be taken serious as a real
alternative to the APC by Nigerians. We can only do these when we live
up to the people’s expectation from an opposition party, especially in
the national assembly.“To this end, we have considered that the
current leadership of our party in the Senate, as represented by the
highest ranking senator there, Senator Ekweremadu, be retained in the
9th assembly. We are sure that if he remains the leader of the PDP
senators, the APC will be kept on its toes until we take over the
assembly.”Another party leader said Ekweremadu “solidly fits the bill. We need a man like him to stand up to the APC senators.”
But PDP stakeholders in the Southwest and the Northcentral are projecting other senators for the plum opposition job.
One source said: “it is incorrect to say there is any crisis in the PDP over this issue.
“Yes,
people are suggesting various opinions as regards who should be the
Minority Leader even when the party’s national leadership is advocating a
particular direction for obvious reasons.“But other opinions are welcome and that should not be interpreted to mean there is a crisis.”
Some
interest groups in the Southwest recently cautioned the PDP leadership
against taking the position of Minority Leader away from the zone.The
Southwest PDP Frontiers (SWPF), led by Asipa Iyanda Adeoye Ogunfojuri,
in a statement by him and Ameen Adekanye warned the party against
repeating the alleged ill-treatment meted out to the zone during the
struggle for the position of national chairman.“We are speaking
out early enough to avoid being told that we kept mute when it mattered,
for that was what we were told after the Southwest was disgraced out of
the PDP national chairmanship race,” they said.“The position of
Minority Leader in the senate is currently being held by the Southwest,
and since nothing has changed as regards the zoning at the national
level, it shouldn’t be taken away from us.“It is worrisome to
see that the body language of many of our leaders suggests the
possibility of the position being used to compensate another zone for
whatever reason.“The Southwest will no longer agree to be
sacrificed within the opposition party, more so when we have eminently
qualified persons that can serve in the said capacity.”The
Nation also gathered that some PDP stakeholders from the Northcentral
recently met leaders of the party in the zone and expressed their desire
to have Senator Dino Melaye supported to lead the PDP caucus in the
senate.According to sources, the stakeholders pleaded with the
leaders against supporting any arrangement that denies the zone a chance
to produce the next Minority Leader of the Red Chamber.“The
Northcentral too is pushing for Dino Melaye. In their opinion, the Kogi
West senator is eminently qualified and equipped to lead other PDP
senators. They also argued that since the zone will be losing the senate
presidency currently held by Senator Bukola Saraki, it is just proper
that it be compensated with the Minority Leadership in the interest of
equity,” our source added.When the 9th assembly is convened, the
Southeast PDP will have at least 11 Senators having lost one seat each
in Anambra, Abia and Imo states. One other seat in Imo is still in
contention.The Southsouth PDP will have about 15 senators
following the loss of one seat each too in Bayelsa, Edo and Delta
states. Party sources said the majority of the senators from the two
zones may support the party’s choice.The Southwest boasts of only three PDP senators-elect.
The
party got a senate seat each in Ondo, Oyo and Osun states during the
last national assembly elections. Dr. Kola Balogun was elected to
represent Oyo South while Chief Francis Fadahunsi will be representing
Osun East. Both are first timers.Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo central) is returning for a second term.
He
was first elected in 2011, but lost his re-election bid in 2015. He is a
ranking senator and sources say he is the candidate of many Southwest
PDP leaders and chieftains for the position of Senate Minority Leader in
the next dispensation.“He is the man they want as replacement
for current Senate Minority Leader, Biodun Olujimi, who will not be
returning to the senate,” said a party source.The Northcentral
will have about five senators in the next dispensation as it could only
manage to add a seat each from Kogi and Plateau states to the clean
sweep it got in Benue State. The surprise loss of all the three
senatorial seats in Kwara, including that of Senate President Bukola
Saraki, depleted its numerical strength in the Senate.Melaye
will be the only ranking senator from the zone in the 9th assembly.
Senators-elect Gabriel Suswam (Benue northeast), Yisa Orker-Jev (Benue
northwest) and Abba Moro (Benue south) are all going to the Senate for
the first time.Another fresher is Istifanus Dung from Plateau north.
This perhaps informed the choice of Melaye as the candidate of some major stakeholders in the zone.
Source:- Thenationonlineng
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