The presidential and National Assembly elections have come and gone with victors declared by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). For both elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged victorious with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima returned as president and vice president elect, respectively. The party also got the majority seats at both chambers of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives).
With this victory, the APC now has the privilege of producing the senate president, speaker of the House of Representatives and other principal officers of the National Assembly.
For the seat of the senate president one of the most important things to consider is regional, ethnic and religious balancing. Given that the president (number one citizen) is from the South-west, Yoruba and Muslim, the vice president (number two citizen) from the North-east, Kanuri and a Muslim, it is only fair that the senate president (number three citizen) hails from either the South-east, Ibo, Christian or South-south, Christian. This would give each part of the country a sense of belonging.
Presently, two senators from these two zones have indicated interest in the office. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the current senate chief whip, and Senator Godswill Akpabio, former minister from the South-south zone. Both of them were governors. This is without prejudice to the possibility of other contenders who may show interest later.
Kalu’s contributions to the success of APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket cannot be underestimated. Senator Kalu, when most southerners and Christians were condemning the choice, stood firm in support of the ticket not on religious grounds but on his conviction that only the Muslim-Muslim ticket could give the APC the victory it wanted. After all, the prime purpose of a political party is winning elections.
He knew that with Atiku’s political strength in the North, especially North-west and North-east, and the coming of Peter Obi of Labour Party and its sympathy from his Ibo kinsmen and Christian voters, only the Tinubu/Shettima ticket would make the APC win the election.
Another point in favour of Kalu’s quest for the senate president is that for the first time the APC is the majority party in the South-east with two governors out the five from the zone (Imo and Ebonyi states). APGA, PDP and LP have one governor each. This could give Senator Kalu an advantage and make the APC consider the zone for the seat of the senate president.
As for Senator Godswill Akpabio, his South-south zone has also given the APC good showing in the just-concluded elections by winning the governorship seat in Cross River and some seats at the national and state assemblies.
Any of the two candidates will be good for the senate presidency and would give the people of these zones and Christians in general some sense of belonging. Should the South-east get the senate president, the South-south could be given the position of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and any other position in the senate and vice versa.
The position of the speaker of the House of Representatives (number four citizen) is a battle between the three zones in the North i.e North-east, North-central and North-west. North-east may be taken away because it has produced the vice president. They may have the position of the senate leader and any other position in the House of Representatives.
North-central, on the other hand, has produced two presiding officers and two deputy presiding officers from 1999 to date. Senators David Mark and Bukola Saraki were senate president, the late Senator Ibrahim Mantu, deputy senate president and the current deputy speaker of House of Representatives Ahmed Idris Wase. APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu is also from this zone. With these, the zone should shelve any ambition of producing the next speaker of the House of the Representatives but look for alternative offices in the interest of justice, equity and fair play.
The battle for the Speaker of the House of Representatives is now left to the North-west. This zone has always given the APC the highest number of votes in all elections, since its inception in 2014, the 2023 elections not an exception. North-west has the strongest pressure and advocacy groups in support of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket and the eventual victory of APC at the polls. To compensate the zone for its loyalty, dedication and support, it is only fair and just to allocate the seat of the speaker to the zone.
In addition, the zone has one of the finest, humble, intelligent and longest serving members, Abbas Tajuddeen, representing Zaria federal constituency Kaduna state. He holds a Ph.D. degree in accounting and finance, a former university lecturer, accomplished entrepreneur, and one of those with the highest number of bills sponsored and passed from the 8th Assembly to date.
He was deputy chairman, committee on legislative complaince; chairman, land transport; member, committees on finance, youth and sports; member, Governing Council, National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS); treasurer, Commonwealth Parliament.
It is possible that there are others from the North-west zone vying for the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives but the pedigree and credentials of Abbas Tajuddeen can hardly be matched by any of them.
The choice of Tajuddeen will surely give the 10th House of Representatives the vibrancy and intellectual dynamism it requires to be in tune with the renewed hope agenda and the “government of national competence” being advanced by the incoming Tinubu administration.
Dalhat writes from Kaduna via 08038643694, [email protected]
