As the search for the next Speaker of the House of Representatives dominates political discuss across the country, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports on the frontline candidates, the zones and their arguments
Following its surprise overwhelming victory at the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC), upon the inauguration of the new National Assembly on the 4th of June, 2015, is expected to take charge of the leadership of both chambers of the federal legislature, replacing the defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the new majority party in government. Going in line with that swift change, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, majority leader and other principal officers of the House would be produced by the party.
Pundits are already predicting that the House leadership positions would be filled by members of the APC from the stronghold of the new governing party, which include the North-East, North-West, North-Central and South-West. The exclusion of the South-East and the South-South is not unconnected with the dismal performance of APC in these zones on March 28 and April 11 that saw the PDP claiming nearly all the National Assembly seats in these areas.
Consequently, few days after the results of the elections were announced and with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC yet to make an official pronouncement on which zone of the country will produce the heads of the two chambers, six federal lawmakers from six states in four zones of the country, indicated interest in clinching the House number one position. They include Israel Ajibola Famurewa from Osun State (South-West); Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi (North-East), Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos (South-West), Mohammed Monguno from Borno (North-East), Pally Iriase from Edo State (South-South); Abdulmumin Jibrin from Kano (North-West).
Expectedly, the race for the Speakership is generating a lot of issues as the candidates use all factors ranging from zoning to experience and the need to balance certain variable in the new government as reasons why they should be considered for the plum job. The gladiators are joined in the ensuing political contest by their various geo-political zones with unending clamours for a chance to produce the next helmsman of the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Northwest, Jibrin and the Buhari challenge
And from the North-West, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin is warning the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against preventing lawmakers from the North-West from contesting for the position in spite of raging argument that with the President-elect from the zone, it is unfair for it to be eyeing the number three seat.
Jibrin, who chairs the House Committee on Finance, said it amounts to blackmail for anybody to suggest that no lawmaker from the North-West should be considered as either the Senate President or as Speaker of the House of Representatives because the President-elect is from the zone. According to him, the election of General Muhammadu Buhari from the North-West is not enough to affect the zoning arrangement because he was elected before the party started discussion on the issue of National Assembly leadership.
He said: “In the first instance, we are getting the interpretation of the zoning arrangement completely wrong. The Presidency is not supposed to be zoned because whoever emerges is the President of the whole Nigeria. Muhammadu Buhari was never presented as the candidate of the North-West. The whole idea is for the President to emerge first. After the emergence of the President, the six geo-political zones would have to sit down and distribute whatever positions that are left particularly, that of the parliament.
“I think we need to get this properly right. There would be seven segments. Six are those of the zone while one is that of the President. This is really going to help the country when people actually realise that the President is not supposed to be included in the zoning arrangement.” According to the lawmaker, if the office of the President was included in the zoning arrangement, Governor Rochas Okorocha would not have contested against Muhammadu Buhari at the APC presidential primaries.
He said: “Although the President-elect is from the North-West but trying to exclude his zone from benefiting from the leadership positions in the incoming 8th National Assembly is very unfair, adding that his zone had the largest contingent of the state assembly members, Senators, members of the House of Representatives and even recorded the highest number of votes during the Presidential election.
“What do we tell our people if you exclude us from the leadership positions in the National Assembly, simply because of zoning? We want the President to concentrate on the entire country. We want other offices that we will take back to our people, because they need to hold on to something”, Jubrin said, calling on all eligible senators and members of the House of Representatives from the North-West to come out and contest the leadership of the National Assembly because it is their right to do so.
But Jibrin’s kinsman and fellow legislator from Kano State, Hon. Nasir Garo, disagrees with him as he cautioned some of his colleagues seeking the number Four (4) seat who are calling for the jettisoning of zoning to eschew such idea and work for the success of APC. “For me, Nigeria is not yet politically matured to jettison zoning. It is important that we carry every zone along, especially in the distribution of political offices in the land,” he said.
He added: “To me, the issue of zoning is very important and we should maintain it. I strongly believe and rightly so that there is no zone in the contrary that does not have individuals that have the capacity and capabilities to effectively run the, leadership of the National Assembly. “In view of this, whatever misgiving anyone can have against zoning will definitely not hold water, we have evolved over time and even though we are still open to learning.
“The only problem I have is the delay in coming out with the zoning arrangement by the party, the earlier the party comes out with its decision the better for everyone. I say this because the delay is likely to cost contestants time and resources.
“Apart from that, as some of them have set out to work, there may have been some promises along the way. The point is that what happens to some of these promises if the party eventually zoned out their candidate? So, my take is that the party should expedite action on it and come out with its decision for people to streamline and articulate their strategies rather than going from pillar to post.
While he is unwilling to let go his ambition, even as sources within the APC in the North-West say he is not being supported by his party men in the zone; it is left to be seen how Jibrin intends to overcome the Buhari challenge he faces in his quest to be Speaker.
Gbajabiamila, Famurewa jostle from the South-West
Buoyed by permutations that the party will eventually zone the seat to his native South-West zone, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Gbajabiamila, recently increased the tempo of his campaign for the position by setting up mobilization committees, saddled with the responsibility of reaching out to state caucuses to woo more lawmakers to his side. Reliable party sources added that beyond the issue of zoning, the party leadership may back Gbajabiamila for the job given his pedigree and experience.
“Above all things, the party is concerned about the need to ensure a stable legislature as we go into government at the centre for the first time in 16 years. While zoning will in no way be jettisoned, experience and pedigree will be seriously considered in arriving at the choice of who leads the next National Assembly. We will in no way do away with lawmakers who played pivotal roles in positioning the party as a force in the outgoing assembly.
Gbajabiamila, a four-time returnee lawmaker, was the Deputy House Minority leader till the end of the 2007-2011 term. He emerged as Minority Leader in 2011. He is credited by his colleagues for his “oratory and erudite approach” to debates in the House, which gave the opposition loud presence in the outgoing session. Before the race for the Speaker’s seat blew open with the Lagos lawmaker in the frontline, many had thought he would simply step into the position of the Majority Leader with the APC having full majority control of the House after the March 28 polls.
But party sources revealed that the South-West caucus in the House threw up his candidacy following indications that the Senate presidency may return to the north upon the failure of the South-East to return any of the party’s senators to the National Assembly thereby leaving the North-Central and the North-East in the race in spite of the fact that the President-elect, General Muhammaddu Buhari, is from the North-West geo-political zone in the north as well.
But beyond the zoning issue, many commentators have been citing competence and experience as the major selling points of Hon. Gbajabiamila in his quest to lead the House. “Gbajabiamila is the best material from the South-West in terms of legislative experience and House leadership at the moment. He is tested and trusted by most of his colleagues in the House and his records are there to speak for him. Beyond all other factors, it is important to give credence to competence in matters like this,” a member of the House from Kwara State, said.
“The North has President and they will also take the Senate President. The South-West has the Vice-President, but since the South-South and South-East have shut themselves out in a way, it becomes necessary for the South-West to take up the speakership, especially when the man in question is eminently qualified to occupy the exalted seat. In a situation like this, we must consider all factors and ensure that at the end of the day, the best man is given the job,” a party leader said.
Perhaps conscious of his underdog status in the race, Famurewa, has hinted that the leadership of the party has the final say on which zone of the country and the personality that will get the slot. The Ijesa-South Federal Constituency of Osun State representative said the speakership race is not a do or die affair, adding that his ambition was still subjected to final decision of the leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmaker, who explained that though his colleagues from other geo-political zones, especially the northern axis of the country, have unofficially endorsed and mobilized other members of the green chamber for his candidature ahead of the June 2015 speakership election, declared that “I have to appeal to them to exercise caution in the way and manner they go about this internal campaign so as not to run foul of the APC leaders.
Reports say the Gbajabiamila camp, notwithstanding his seeming good chance at emerging victorious, is not resting on its oars as consultations continue amongst both returning and new legislators. According to reports, The Gbajabiamila arrowheads in some state are Mr. Rufai Chanchangi for Kaduna State, Mr. Abdulahi Balarabe for Sokoto State, Khadijah Ibrahim for Yobe and Bolarinwa White for Ondo State, amongst others.
Dogara, Monguno and the North-East quest
While many analysts are still critically examining the move by Dogara and Monguno, both from the North-East to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 8th National Assembly, considering indications that the zone may produce the next President of the Senate, a pressure group, North-East Concerned Citizens, recently threw its weight behind the contenders, insisting that the North-East geopolitical zone deserves the position the most among other zones in the country. The group, like many other bodies and individuals from the zone, would want Nigerians to see the two lawmakers’ ambitions beyond their persons but rather as a geo-political quest for political survival.
Endorsing the ambitions of Dogara and Monguno from Bauchi and Borno States respectively, the group appealed to lawmakers and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to afford the zone the opportunity of occupying the coveted seat for the first time in the political journey of the country. Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the deputy coordinator of the group, Hon. Salisu Sabo, stated that members of the House know that the North East has people who are credible and enjoy wide acceptability, respect and recognition among old and new lawmakers of the Green Chamber, making them suitable for the job.
“I will like to use this medium to appeal to the members of the House of Representatives and members-elect and also the leadership of our great party, APC, to zone the seat of the speakership to the North-East geopolitical zone of the country. The North-East, which has greatly contributed to the activities of the House of Representatives, hereby forwards our intention to produce the Speaker in the 8th Assembly. The time has come and the time is right. We have shown strength and character.
“It is only fair for the people of the North-East to settle for nothing less than the leadership of the House of Representatives,” Sabo stressed. But of the two, Dogara appears to be the leading candidate from the zone with reports indicating that the North-West and North-Central caucuses in the House may have endorsed him for the position.
Hon. Dogara represents Tafawa-Balewa/Bogoro/Das Federal Constituency of Bauchi State in the House of Representatives. He chairs the House Services Committee and was the chairman of Customs Committee in the sixth Assembly. He was among the 37 PDP members of the House of Representatives who defected to the APC, in spite of the fact that his home state is not among those whose governors joined APC. According to him, the distribution of positions in the next National Assembly must guarantee “fairness and justice.”
Dogara described the North-East as the poorest geo-political zone in the country that required the backing of other zones in the sharing of political offices. He also stated that the reported prospect of the zone producing the Senate President did not in any way affect his aspiration. He addressed a news conference where he said, “We represent the aspirations of a zone that is the poorest in the country.
“There are candidates from other zones that already hold leadership positions in the APC, yet they are running for the position of Speaker. Why are questions not being asked in their own case?” Dogara admitted that the APC must be passing through a difficult period in taking a position on the issue, but he advised the party to be guided aright so as not to hurt the feelings of members.
But in spite of Dogara’s current promising chance in the race, most pundits are of the opinion that he may have to settle for something lesser than the Speakership should his zone produce the President of the Senate. According to a reliable party source, it is most unlikely that the APC will allow one zone produce the two frontline positions.
“We are not worried over the ongoing agitations. It is good for the party and for democracy, contrary to what some people are trying to insinuate. We are comfortable with the aspirations of all our members jostling for positions. However, one thing that is sure is that the positions would be spread amongst the geo-political zones. When it is time for us to ensure that, as a disciplined party, we will have little or no problem in getting that done,” our source said.
On his part, Monguno, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, said he is not desperate to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, adding that he is willing to abide by the decision of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), on the zoning of offices to parts of the country. He however advised that whoever emerges as the Speaker should give premium to addressing key challenges of economic downturn and security, specifying that if he happens to be the favoured one, he would assist the Executive on how to surmount the hydra – headed challenges.
Iriase’s case for the South-South
In spite of the less than encouraging disposition of party leaders to the idea of the South-South being considered for the position, the lawmaker representing Owan Federal Constituency of Edo State in the House of Reprehensive, Pally Iriase, insists that the APC should support the South-South to produce Speaker for the Assembly in-line with the principles of fairness, equity and Justice. The two -term member is supporting his right to speakership with Section 14(13) of the 1999 Constitution that states that Federal Character must reflect in the composition of Government of the Federation.
He noted the President-elect is from North-West and his Vice from South-West stressing that based on federal character provision, neither of these zones should get priority on the queue for National Assembly presiding officers Pally Iriase emphasized that as things presently stand, the right thing to do is to have a South-South Speaker, thereby ensuring that there is no predominance of persons from a few states, ethnic or sectional group in the incoming government.
Pally Iriase, the Deputy Chairman of House Committee on Constituency Outreach Committee further said as a good manager of people with a long track of experience, he is the best candidate from the South-South to fit the position. He cautioned the APC not to “go against the Federal Character Principle” enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, insisting that the seat should be zoned to the South-South “for the purpose of geo-political balancing.”
According to Iriase, the APC will be going against the Federal Character principle if its zoning ruled out the South-South. “I don’t wish my party a replay of the Peoples Democratic Party scenario in 2011. If the zoning is equitable and fair, members may not want to rock the boat of the APC.” Supporting Iriase’s position, the South-South Equity Forum (SEF) recently said the incoming government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not be fair to the South-South region if it does not allow it produce the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SEF said it is only “fair, just and, as a matter of necessity” that if the Senate presidency goes to either the North-East or North-Central as being speculated, the speakership should go to the South-South with consideration for the member representing Owan Federal Constituency in the House of Representative, Pally Iriase as Speaker.
SEF, led by Harrison Omagbon, at a press briefing in Benin City, appealed to the leadership of the APC and the President-elect to be on the side of “fair play, equity and justice in the larger interest of the APC and the country,” noting that Edo State, an APC controlled state in the South-South states, is among states, “where General Muhammad Buhari, the President-elect scored 45 percent, which is above the mandatory 25 percent as required by the constitution.”
Although Iriase describes himself as the only one that has the necessary administrative experience among the aspirants, promising to run a transparent leadership, fight corruption and ensure prudent management of resources, many analysts are of the opinion that aside the issue of zoning, the lawmaker will find it difficult to compete for the position with some of the more experienced aspirants.
