By NewsBits
Members of minority parties in the two chambers of the National Assembly have begun moves to fill the remaining principal offices in the Senate and House of Representatives following Tuesday’s emergence of the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker.
Members of the minority caucus, who are more in number than those in the ruling APC, are drawn from seven opposition parties.
The parties are the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, New Nigerian People’s Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Social Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, and the Youth Progressive Party. In the Red Chamber, the ruling All Progressives Congress has 59 senators; PDP, 36, LP, eight; SDP, two; NNPP, two; YPP, one; and APGA, one.
The PDP has 117 members in the House of Representatives; LP, 35; NNPP, 19; APGA, five; SDP, two; ADC, two; and the YPP, one, totalling 181 opposition members. Those in the APC are 178. A member-elect on the platform of the PDP from Taraba State, Ismaila Maihanci, died on April 22, 2023, to make up the 360th member of the House.
The remaining principal officers for the majority caucus are the Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Senate Whip and Senate Minority Whip. For the minority caucus, there are the Senate Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Senate Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.
In the House of Representatives, the available positions for the party with majority members are Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Whip and Deputy Majority Whip, while for the opposition parties, there are Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip. Although the list of principal officers will come from the political parties, the presiding officers cannot be totally excluded from the selection process.
Two major camps had emerged among senators in the course of the leadership tussle. Those in the Stability Group supported the Godswill Akpabio/Jibrin Barau ticket for the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, while those in the Democrats Group backed the Abdulaziz Yari and Orji Kalu ticket.
It was reliably informed that Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central) was gunning for the position of Senate Leader. A source informed one of our correspondents that the Senate Leader for the majority caucus would likely be zoned to the South-West.
Bamidele, who was the Deputy Director-General of the Akpabio/Barau ticket, was said to want the position of the Senate Leader as one of the ranking lawmakers from the South-West. The source noted that Senator Omotayo Buhari (APC Oyo North) was also aiming for the Senate Leader in the Yari team.
The source stated, “Senators Opeyemi Bamidele and Buhari have both been eyeing the Senate Leader but now that it Senator Akpabio won the Senate President’s seat, Bamidele will likely get it.
“But one cannot tell, because the Senate President from his comments seems like he is willing to integrate as many from the other group into his team. But Bamidele has a better chance, especially because of Buhari’s alliance against the party’s choice.”
Meanwhile, in the minority caucus, Senator Francis Fadahunsi (PDP, Osun East) is said to be at the forefront for the position of the Senate Minority leader. Senators Abdul Ningi and Adamu Aliero are also said to be major contenders for the seat.
Fadahunsi stated that if the position was zoned to the South-West, he was eminently qualified for it, adding that the South-East also stood a chance, but the PDP got more votes in Osun State during the last general elections, which would give him an edge as a ranking senator.
He said, “Yes, I am interested in the position of the Senate Leader. If the position is zoned to the South-West, then I am eminently qualified for the position. I am a major and experienced lawmaker in the South-West PDP. The South-East zone can also be considered, having lost out of the presiding officers, but the party didn’t even get enough votes there.”
Ningi said the choice of being the Minority Leader was beyond him, but he was willing to accept the leadership position if the caucus nominated him.
“I am not vying for anything, but if I am nominated as either the Senate Leader or whatever position, who am I not to accept it?” he said.
Ningi, who was the Senate Deputy Minority Leader in the 9th Assembly, also applauded Akpabio for having started on a good note, adding that he was ready to work with him.
He said, “I am happy he has started on a very clean slate. I can see that he is ready for this job and we have assured him that once he accords us our respect, we are going to give him our full loyalty.
“Because he is a ranking senator, he understands that on behalf of the people of this country over the years things have not been done so well that time will give us another opportunity to redo what we have not been able to do in the last couple of years.”
Aspirants lobby LP, NNPP. Meanwhile, Oke and Salam have indicated their readiness to work with non-PDP members in the minority caucus.
In a chat with one of our correspondents, Oke was asked, “Is there a possibility of other minority parties taking some seats in the minority caucus leadership?” Responding, he said, “Yes, we will share the four-minority leadership (positions) among the minority parties – the PDP, LP and NNPP.
“Aside from the party zoning positions after our leaders in the NWC and the governors may have decided, it is imperative that we talk and lobby among ourselves. No leader can impose himself on his colleagues.”
Similarly, Salam said, “All of us in the minority parties are talking on this issue of leadership. The leadership of each political party will also have some form of dialogue and interactions on how we will eventually form the leadership of the minority caucus.”
