THE D-DAY IS FINALLY HERE AS NASS ELECTS PRINCIPAL OFFICERS FOR THE 9TH ASSEMBLY.

Ndume vs Lawan

Hon. Femi GBAJABIAMILA 

This is what is called the day of reckoning. The day that at the end, some would celebrate, while others would agonize over their loss or decimation. For some their electoral values would soar, whilst for the others they would be brought down to ground zero, all they had thought they had would be laid bare before them as others would determine their fates.

Today, Tuesday, June 11, 2019 just a day to the newly endorsed Nigerian democracy day June 12, the day that commemorates what is said to have marked the freest and fairest election ever held in the history of Nigeria, as symbolized by the late Aare Ona Kakanfo, Bashorun MKO Abiola of blessed memory, is when the Nigerian National House of Assembly, would gather to elect their own principal officers to guide them for the next 4 years, God willing. It would be a case of first amongst equals.

A few of those posts that officers would be elected for are, the offices of the Senate President of the Federation & his Deputy, the Speaker of the house of assembly and his Deputy, and other officers and other offices like majority and minority leaders. But the most important ones are the 1st 4 mentioned above. Not only are those offices quite lucrative financially, but the holders of those revered offices immediately becomes the 3rd and 4th in hierarchy of power and influence in the country the minute they get elected.

The ruling party the APC who normally should have had a field day picking those officers to man those important offices just because of the majority they are supposed to have, have not been able to have an outright say, just because they have not succeeded in having a peaceful house. For the APC it's already a divided home and like it is rightly said, "a house divided against itself cannot stand". It's obvious that the APC house is already doing her best to fight all the very obvious signs of disintegration. By their antics they have served into the hands of their enemies, the opposition made up majorly of those that had disgruntly left their party back to the PDP.

With this election today, it is PDP's own way of getting back their own pound of flesh with the obvious connivance of some members of the APC, who the more staunch or loyal APC members, considers desperate politicians. The arch enemies of the APC, are clandestinely led by the PDP presidential candidate at the last election, in the person of his excellency, the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is still hell bent on claiming what he claims to be his electoral victory that was illegally snatched from him. Others in the same camp are the likes of the former and most recent senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki who with the former speaker, Hon. Dogara had led a sort of coup against their own party's preferred choices in 2015 to emerge as both the senate president and the speaker of the house. Though Dogara was fortunately able to return as an opposition member of the House of Representatives, his main man, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki was unfortunately trounced at the elections and couldn't return back to the house of assembly. Even as he is not in the house, he still has his many men in the house to do his bidding, led especially by outspoken and highly comedic Senator Dino Melaye, the forner Chairman of the Committee on the FCT.

While the core APC members are supporting the candidacy of majority leader Senator Lawan-North, Senator Omo-Agege-South-South and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila-South-West, the renegade APC members and the PDP, are in full support of Senator Ali Ndume-North, Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago-North. Both Ndume and Bago are incidentally also from the APC, but are seen as turncoats for not following the party's hierarchy dictate.

The election is to be done by a simple majority vote carries the day. So if what the PDP has planned works, it would mean that the whole PDP caucus in the house would vote enmasse for Ndume and Bago, with some members of the APC following suit, by that simple calculation they would have just carried the day. But with the wheeling and dealing expected to have taken place, with the awesome amount of money exchanging hands and also deals brokered to facilitate the winning, it wouldn't be just simple mathematics just like that. Hence everyone is watching to see the outcome at the end of the day.

The other shortfall of the outcome of this election, would be that, the so called powerful men, who could make the impossible things happen through their connect and power to deal, would be known at the end of the day. Just like the paperweights too would be revealed to all, in due course. 

HAS PMB FINALLY MADE HIS CHOICE FOR SENATE PRESIDENT PUBLIC? WOULD IT BE SENATOR AHMAD LAWAN FOR THE SENATE & HON. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA FOR THE SPEAKER SHIP?

Senator Ahmad Lawan

Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila 

The ruling party are doing all they can to prevent thunder from striking twice at the National Assembly over the choice of leadership for the next session of the house, at both the upper and the lower houses.

The sting of the manuevres, which some have likened to a coup that had installed the outgoing leadership of both Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry and most likely can never ever be forgotten. In 2015 while the APC was still dragging their feet thinking they had all the time in the world to pick and install their anoited as leaders of the Houses, members of their own party led by wily Senator Saraki and Hon. Dogara like thieves in the night, with the active connivance of the opposition party, gave everyone a rude shock, that nearly gave many heart attacks, when those not slated to lead the house were voted in as leaders of the assembly and from that moment onward the schism that nearly tore the party and the NASS apart began.

Much as the APC on the other side, tried to scheme out, the APC that operated the so called coup in connivance with the PDP, they met a super smart opponent(s), who embarrassed them at each move and turn,  and in fact outsmarted them all the way. So now to avoid falling in to the same pit twice, they seem to have resolved to make hay, while the sun is still shining properly.

The leadership of the APC led by the Chairman of the party in the person of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State met with the APC house of assembly elects only yesterday and advised that all the leadership positions available in the houses must be filled by members of the party alone except for the ones that the opposition should occupy by right. He especially emphasized that those to be elected also must be loyal party members alone. For the Federal House of Representatives, it seems that the preferred candidate, in fact the anointed one for the Speakership position again is the brilliant lawyer and lawmaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the current house majority leader of the outgoing lower house. For the post of who would become the 3rd most powerful man in the country, it seems like everything is again pointing at the same man, that the party had proposed to make the Senate President in 2015, in the person of distinguished gentleman Senator Ahmad LAWAN. But he would have a battle at hand as he must contend with a fellow party man, Senator Ali Ndume.

Senator Ahmad Lawan himself has finally come out to show interest in occupying the post and to lead the 9th session of the National Assembly starting from June 2019. For Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, he has never hidden the fact that he wants to lead the House of Representatives as her speaker. He had thought he was coasting home to victory in 2015, only to be blindsided and beaten by an 8 votes margin the last time, when Hon. Yakubu Dogara and cohorts outsmarted him winning by 182 to 174  votes.

Though the Chairman of the APC at a meeting with all the APC elected Assembly members yesterday, Monday, March 25, 2019 had come out to show his personal support for Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe, that endorsement by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole might not have gone well with everyone, especially another Senator, in the person of distinguished Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who has come out to kick against Oshiomhole's endorsement of the former. Senator Ali Ndume is in fact a fellow member of the ruling party the APC from Borno. The APC have the numerical advantage in both HOUSES on the coming 9th Assembly and want to use the advantage well. Senator Ali Ndume was the former House Majority Leader whom Ahmad Lawan took over from after he was suspended at upper house for 6 months and was removed as Majority leader. He would be 59 come November 20, 2019. He had his OND & HND from Kaduna Poly in 1980 & 82 respectively. He got his B.Ed & M.Ed from the University of Toledo Ohio in 1990, Magna Cum Laude. He has been at the National Assembly for 16 years now, since 2003 as a member of the House of representatives then as a Senator since 2011. So he has the requisite experience needed too. He was formerly of the ANPP then the PDP & now the APC.  From the ensuing scenario, the ruling party had better handle their situation well or they might just allow the same situation that messed them up in 2015 to rear up its ugly head all over again. A house already divided against itself like they say, cannot stand the wiles, schemes, trickery and moves of an opposition/enemy that is very smart too but with its back already to the wall. So they are desperate and wouldn't mind to scatter everything. In fact they can even begin to preach that the House of Assembly is not about party affiliations, but about men and woman who can pick whomsoever they want as leaders.

Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, 60, was born January 12, 1959. He is currently the Senate majority leader and an APC Member from Yobe North in Yobe State. He has been a member of the National Assembly since 1999 till date, that's 20 years straight. He is a graduate of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State with a B.Sc in Geography 1984, he has a Masters in Remote Sensing from the ABU, Zaria 1990, then he also has a Doctorate in Remote Sensing from Cranfield University, UK 1996. He moved from the House of representatives to the Upper house.

For Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila, 56, he was born June 25, 1962 so would be 57 come this June just around the time the 9th Assembly would commence. This would be his 5th term in the House, where he has done exemplarily and commendably well. He has represented his Surulere 1 Federal Constituency super well and by extension his party. The trained lawyer, who owns law chambers in both Nigeria and America has had a great 2 decades of experience in the House, where at a point he sponsored the highest number of bills by any legislator. He is always a delight a hear. Were he to become the Speaker of the 9th house, then the House would he the good for it.