There have been recurring tense moments in the Senate of late. While some dismiss them as common developments among gatherings of equal, especially in parliament, others see them as tell-tale signs of a larger plot to either distabilise the red chamber or portray Senate President Godswill Akpabio as being incapable of leading his colleagues. This belief is meant to pave the way for his removal. To the latter group, Akpabio is in danger of being impeached as there can be no smoke without fire. They believe some of his colleagues in opposition are coalescing and waiting for the right moment to strike. In this piece, our Senate Correspondent, Sanni Onogu, examines the issues that may likely fuel moves for a change of leadership of the 10th Senate as currently constituted or otherwise.
The struggle to clinch the position of the President of the 10th Senate was by no means a walk in the park. This followed the sheer number of Senators that indicated interest in the plum job. All of them were eminently qualified but other factors led to the choice of who eventually emerged as the Senate President. For instance, when it became clear that Senator Akpabio and Senator Barau Jibrin had been anointed by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led executive for the position of presiding officers of the 10th Senate, some aspirants hurriedly buried their aspirations in deference to the President and worked for Akpabio to emerge, while others teamed up with the opposition to wrestle the seat away from Akpabio.
Aspirants like Senator Osita Izunaso and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu threw in their support for Senator Abdulaziz Yari whose main strategy was to ride on northern political sentiments in his bid for the job. Yari had the backing of the majority of lawmakers of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a few All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators. On his part, Senator Sani Musa backpedaled and supported Akpabio based on the prompting of the APC’s leadership. On the day of the election, Akpabio scored 63 votes while Yari scored 46 of the 109 votes cast.
Since this victory and assumption of office by Akpabio, rumours have been of the clandestine plot – contrived or real – to get the Senate President to vacate the seat but none of them have materialized or shown any modicum of being successful.
In view of this, Akpabio, in an apparent bid to consolidate his position and ward off possible attempts at overturning his mandate, ensured that his loyalists, both in the ruling APC and other opposition parties were appointed as principal officers as well as chairmen as vice chairmen of choice special and standing committees of the Senate. For instance, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele emerged as the Senate Leader; Senator Ali Ndume was made Chief Whip and vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee; while Senator Solomon Adeola became the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi was made chair of the Committee on Senate Services while Senator Sani Musa emerged Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.
However key members of the opposition block got committees’ chairmanship considered by some as not being juicy enough. For instance, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu was made chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatization while Senator Abdul Ningi who was the spokesman of the Yari Campaign Council was made chairman Senate Committee on National Identity and National Population Commission.
Besides, among Akpabio’s loyalists, Senator Ndume who was his campaign coordinator with an eye to becoming the Senate Leader failed to clinch the position. Some reports have linked what appeared to be animosity between Akpabio and Ndume to this development.
Ndume, who is a former Senate Leader, and a friend of Vice President Kashim Shettima, had been mandated by President Tinubu to lead the Akpabio campaign. He claimed that by virtue of his position as Campaign Director General to Akpabio, that precedent and his experience in the chamber favoured him to be the Senate Leader. But the President and the leadership of the APC, may have used other criteria to select Bamidele who is a die-hard loyalist of the President.
“I’m interested but I’m not desperate to be the Senate Leader. I will leave everything to God,” Ndume said during the run-up to the unveiling of the committee appointments where he was named Chief Whip of the Senate.
Analysts believe that Ndume’s seeming acceptance of his fate is a facade. Reports say he is not only angry but looking for every means to pick holes in the actions of the Senate President. The recent incident where he walked out of the Senate during plenary upon being ruled out of order for citing a point of order that did not correlate with the subject matter he tried to introduce has been interpreted by keen watchers of the Senate as a sign that all is not well between him and Akpabio.
He has however dismissed speculations that there is an animosity between him and the Senate President. He also denied reports, even though his action was obvious, that he did not walk out of the Senate on the basis of the action of the Senate President against him.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, Ndume explained that the rationale behind his abrupt departure from the chamber was related to his decision to leave during the discussion of a topic concerning the closure of Nigeria’s borders.
According to him, the situation arose, “when Senator Kawu Sumaila proposed a motion which he said was urgent on closure of the border between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
“At first, it was argued that the motion was not urgent, but the President of the Senate let him finish what he wanted to say.
“After hearing the motion, it was agreed that since it was related to security, it should be suspended,” Ndume was quoted to have said.
“I would like to clarify that the motion, although impactful, falls outside the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Senate.
“The closure of the border was not initiated by the President of Nigeria, but rather during his tenure as President of ECOWAS. As such, he has the authority to advocate on our behalf.
“In order to address this matter, it is imperative to involve the President of our nation, but I was not afforded the opportunity to convey this message.
“While this was happening, it coincided with the time of prayer, prompting my departure. Consequently, my colleagues misconstrued my exit, and the journalists changed the meaning of my exit,” Ndume added.
Another issue said to be a source of anger to Senators especially first timers was the recent introduction of a new rule that makes first-term senators, irrespective of whether they have been members of the House of Representatives, ineligible to contest for the positions of Presiding Officer – Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
Many Senators believe that the development was a counter-move against those allegedly planning to impeach Akpabio. Some
senators who are ranking as former members of the House of Representatives also consider the rule to be in bad taste. Some believe that Senator Yari – a former member of the Green Chamber – who contested the Senate President’s position with Akpabio, was one of the targets of the new rule.
Besides, a PDP Senator, Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, representing Nasarawa South recently censured Akpabio’s handling of affairs of the chambers, especially concerning the passage of critical bills.
He condemned Akpabio’s alleged quest to pass some bills hastily. He said: “Very sensitive bills are brought and are expected to be passed with the speed of light, which is not good for the country.
“Every senator here is supposed to be adequately informed; he does his research and makes a positive contribution, but in a situation where even money bills are brought and expected to be passed within two hours, it wouldn’t be better for the country. Sir, you are on the seat today; history will judge you that things like this are not good for this country.”
However, investigations revealed that Onawo’s comments were rather misplaced as the Bill under consideration by the Senate when he raised a point of order was a House of Representatives Bill transmitted to the Senate for concurrence. Bills for concurrence are not usually the subject of debate. The chamber considering them can either accept the recommendations proposed in the Bill or reject them. If some of the recommendations are rejected, the Chamber that passed the Bill can set up a conference committee of both chambers to iron out the grey areas and agree on the recommendations before passage.
Could the Distinguished Senator who is a former member of the House of Representatives be said to be ignorant of the Senate rules on the passage of bills? Did he merely play to the gallery or was he out to show that he too could challenge the Senate President?
Despite the attempt by some of his colleagues to trample on the revered office of the President of the Senate, through uncomplimentary and sometimes vexatious remarks, analysts believe that Akpabio had always kept his cool and give fitting replies to his traducers.
For example, in his response to Onawo’s outburst, Akpabio said: “If the bills you say we are passing at the speed of light, are in the interest of the people, history will judge me right because nobody would sit down here to pass bills that would negatively impact on the lives of the people.”
Furthermore, speculations were rife recently that Akpabio was in danger of impeachment. Giving vent to the seeming frustration of some opposition senators in the chamber, a former Adamawa North Senator, Elisha Abbo, who was the deputy campaign Director General of Senator Yari, had openly accused Akpabio of concocting stories and causing them to be planted in the media in order to drive a wedge between the North and President Tinubu.
Following news of an alleged plot to impeach Akpabio a few days to resumption of the Senate from its annual vacation in September, Abbo stated, “I woke up today to find over 10 mainstream Nigerian newspapers all carrying news of a plan to impeach Senator Akpabio by senators from Northern Nigeria. The Whistler Newspaper even went on to name Senator Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, and Senator Ogoshi Onawo, among others, as the senators behind the move.”
Abbo added, “As a Northern senator and an official of the Northern Senators Forum, I boldly affirm that this news is intentionally disseminated and propagated by the ‘camp’ of Senator Akpabio solely to pit President Bola Tinubu against the North. I call on Senator Akpabio to rein in his camp, as the seeds of discord and deep ethno-religious division they are sowing will not bode well for the country. Why the North? Why in Saudi Arabia?”
He remarked further that, “If Akpabio and his camp wanted a united Senate, much like Ahmed Lawan, they would have known exactly what to do during Senate Standing Committees allocation and supplementary budget resources allocation. But the camp of the Senate President continued to treat the Senate as a conquered territory where the winner walks away with the spoils of war. A classic case of the winner takes all.”
Expressing his frustration, the Adamawa lawmaker said, “How do you justify a situation where out of Category A Committees, only two were granted to his perceived rivals? How will you explain a Senate where 83.1% of those appointed Chairmen of Category A Committees also serve as Vice Chairmen of Category A Committees?
“How do you explain a third-term Senator being denied the Chairmanship of a Committee? How do you justify the leadership of the Senate, all being Vice Chairmen of Category A Committees? You cannot treat us as conquered people and then return to manipulate us with planted and paid newspaper reports to set us against the President.”
In addition, Senator Abbo was quick to blame Akpabio as the mastermind of the Court of Appeal verdict that recently threw him out of the Senate. He further alleged that four other Senators opposed to Akpabio including Senator Orji Uzor Kalu have been slated for removal through the courts. Even though the Senate President was quick to distance himself from Abbo’s political travails, the former Adamawa North lawmaker a few days after his outburst ate his words and profusely apologised to Akpabio.
Speaking on Arise News Television on Tuesday night, Senator Abbo denied any plot by him or any other senator to impeach the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Abbo also reneged on his earlier claim that Senator Akpabio had plans to kick out Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and three other senators.
“I have to say this with all sense of humility and responsibility that the press release that we rendered yesterday (Monday) was premature as the available information at our disposal then portended.
“We discovered a lot of things yesterday night, I also had a discussion with my leader, senior brother, colleague, and the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Akpabio and I am convinced that he was not involved in my exit from the Senate,” he said.
On reports of attempts in the past to impeach the Senate President, Senator Abbo who was reportedly linked to the alleged plot said: “I want to say that there was no plan to impeach the Senate President at any time, who himself was a product of the popular votes of confidence by us (his colleagues). I support and respect Senator Godswill Akpabio to deliver on the core mandate of the Nigerian people. I am praying for God to give him wisdom because the Senate is a chamber of equals and I am praying for wisdom for him to know how to manage his colleagues because I don’t want him to fail.”
In his reaction, Akpabio through his spokesman, Hon Eseme Eyiboh, who was also on the same programme commended Senator Abbo for the apology.
Eyiboh said: “What he has done today is a very rare act of strength of character by coming out publicly to apologise to his father and his leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio for the umbrage.
“So, I want to thank him for that demonstration of goodwill and he will go places; and Akpabio for who he is, will not withhold any blessing and affection from him.”
Eyiboh had earlier dismissed the accusations of the former Adamawa North senator, describing his claims as “delinquent, provocative, and unbecoming of a Distinguished Senator.”
He added that: “It is only a diseased and uninformed mind that will not believe that the outcome of any court proceeding is a function of the evaluation of facts and evidence within the province of the rule of law.
“It is uncharitable for Senator Abbo to pour his frustrations on Senator Akpabio or anyone else and his action betrays the bile he has for Senator Akpabio.
“Democracy is founded in the rule of law, so for anybody to accuse one of the strong agents of democracy and governance in the mould of Senator Godswill Akpabio, such an individual must be a monument of self-pity and his swansong a discordant escape from reality.
“Senator Akpabio for emphasis has no ill-will towards any of his distinguished colleagues and as he has said in the past, the embers of the leadership election have been buried and replaced by the fraternal bond of nation-building he shares with the overwhelming majority of senators.”
For the moment, Akpabio’s leadership of the Senate appears not to be under any threat and he gradually masters the art of the gavel and his role as Senate President which is a work in progress. Despite contrived tensions, crises, and other acts aimed at weakening his hold in piloting the affairs of the Senate, the dramatis personae may not achieve their intended aim of provoking an impeachment. Like Abbo said, there is no such plot, and even if there is, with the present makeup of the Senate, it would be Herculean to get two-thirds of Senators (72)to vote to remove him except, of course, with the active support of the executive.
Unlike the majority APC with 60 senators (following the defection of YPP Senator Ifeanyi Ubah to the party – the minority is split into five political parties – PDP with 36, Labour Party (LP) nine, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) two, Social Democratic Party (SDP) two and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one.
Speaking with reporters after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa on Wednesday, Akpabio described all that has been happening since his assumption of office in terms of attacks as mere politics by vested interests. He said as politicians, there was no hatred between him and his colleagues.
“In the parliament,” according to Akpabio, “sometimes you disagree. We are all working in one accord. There is no problem at all.”
He added: “Even if some people disagree on some of the happenings in the Senate, still, it is only the majority decision that is going to prevail and the parliament is like that.
“We will never get to the point of throwing chairs. We will never get to that point. The Senate is too mature, full of mature people, so, if we have a disagreement, we immediately go into a closed session, resolve it and come out smiling. We are politicians, no permanent hatred but permanent interest.”
