By the time the Senate reconvenes next
Tuesday, one of the major issues that will
come up is that of who will be the Senate
Minority Leader. MUYIWA OYINLOLA in
this report examines the intrigues and
scheming for the position among the
gladiators.
Until about two weeks ago when the
immediate past Akwa Ibom State
governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio,
indicated interest in the Minority
Leadership of the Senate, political pundits
had thought it was the exclusive right of
James Manager.
Reason: Akpabio is a fresher in the Green
Chamber, while Manager has been there
since 2003. The rule of the Senate is
however clear on who can become a
principal officer in the chamber, and it is
simply that such a lawmaker must be a
ranking senator, that is, he must not be a
newcomer.
Order 2 of the Senate Standing Orders
reads: Election of presiding and other
officers states that in determining ranking,
“the following order shall apply: (i)
Senators returning based on number of
times re-elected; (II) Senators who had
been members of the House of
Representatives; (iii) Senators elected as
Senators for the first time.”
However, the two things both lawmakers
have in common are that they are both
members of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) now in the opposition, and they
both hail from the South South where the
position is zoned to.
Akpabio, as indicated earlier is from Akwa
Ibom state, while Manager is from Delta
State.
But Akpabio says he is not bothered with
the ranking rule, stating that all senators
are equal.
While speaking with newsmen about his
ambition last week in Abuja, he stated
that “It is not a question of interest, it is
a question of capacity. So, if I have the
capacity, my colleagues will decide.
“In the Senate, everybody is equal but
some have been there for a long time like
the ranking senators and all that. So,
when you have the opportunity to be in
the red chamber, you have equal rights to
aspire to any position but you first have
to be sure that your colleagues will be
interested in you.
“If my name has been mentioned,
probably by my colleagues, and I consult,
and at the end of my consultations with
stakeholders of our party across the
nation, I will be able to make appropriate
statement”.
But the former governor is not the only
one challenging Manager for the seat, two
other lawmakers, both also freshers in the
Senate, have shown interest in the seat.
The only thing is that Akpabio’s interest
appears more pronounced.
The two other senators, John Enoh (Cross
Rivers) and George Sekibo (Rivers), have
also commenced campaigns towards
achieving their ambition.
Imminent party crisis
The ambition of the new comers in the
chamber which is clearly against the
Senate Rule on ranking is already causing
ripples both within the PDP caucus in the
chamber and within the party as leaders
are being pitched against one another
over their preferred candidates.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan and
his wife, Patience, are in support of
Sekibo, where as the Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu and the Rivers
State governor, Nyesom Wike are against
his candidacy.
Speaking on the implication of this
development, a PDP senator said: “We are
seeing the APC crisis now, ours is also in
the making because before July 21, if we
too don’t sort ourselves out, we can at
best say that what is capable of
weakening the PDP ahead of its role as a
viable opposition party in the years ahead
may have been planted.”
However, Akpabio’s ambition, which is at
variance with the Senate Rules on ranking
appears to have received the support of
most senators from South-South which
will produce Senate Minority Leader.
Meanwhile, the chances of Manager, who
had hitherto been touted as the Senate
Minority Leader are looking dim as
financial muscle appears to have laid a
path ahead of the final decision that will
be announced when the senate resumes
plenary on July 21.
“We all thought the issue of Senate
Minority Leader had been laid to rest until
the DSP (Deputy Senate President) called
us for a meeting in his house where he
sought people’s opinion on the propriety
or otherwise of selecting Senator John
Enoh for the position.
“I think it was from there the former
Akwa-Ibom governor got the feeling that
if the matter has to be revisited, then he
would take a shot at it, but he doesn’t
know that his ambition is against the
rules of the senate as regards the
selection of its principal officers.
“Before then, we were all facing the
challenge of the suggestion by the former
president and his wife that we should
consider Sekibo from Rivers but the duo
of Ekweremadu and Wike kicked against
it.
“From all indications, if we don’t step in
on time, our earlier decision backing
James Manager may fail as you know
what money can do in politics; we can’t
say money won’t work in this
circumstance”, the lawmaker stated.
Enoh vs Manager
A source at the meeting called by
Ekweremadu to resolve the lingering crisis
over who becomes the Minority Leader
reveals that the leadership of the party at
the meeting gave their blessing for Enoh,
a development which has now pitched the
deputy senate president against other
ranking members from the South South
who believe that ranking rule should be
followed.
The source disclosed that:”The meeting
was held to choose the minority leader.
“As the meeting progressed, Senator
James Manager, who has the same
ranking in the chamber with Ekweremadu,
was not invited to the meeting.
“Immediately Manager got to know of the
meeting holding behind his back, he went
straight to the venue where he met
Ekweremadu presiding over the meeting
to choose a minority leader.
“By the time he got there, it was decided
that although the South South would
produce the minority leader, Manager
would not occupy the position since he is
from Delta State where the same position
had been zoned to Leo Ogor, his
kinsman.”
Conclusion
Considering the on-going crises within the
ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
where the leadership of the National
Assembly emerged against the dictates of
the party, analysts are worried that the
nation may be heading for danger if a
similar situation is repeated in the PDP.
A number of ranking senators within the
opposition party have already told
Ekweremadu to respect the position of the
party and that of the Senate on ranking.
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