₦airaland Forum

Immediate past South East Zonal Woman Leader of APC, Rev. Barr. Sally William Chinebu (PhD) has congratulated the Abia North Senator-elect, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu on his certificate of return issuance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently.

The philanthropist in a release on Tuesday said the former governor is sufficiently qualified to occupy the third position in the country, saying his legislative experience and experience as a two term governor stand him out.

"Kalu is no novice in the legislature. He has been a member of House of Representatives in 1993. Though it was short lived, he made a remarkable contribution in the legislative house, including the sponsoring of dual citizenship bill.

"Kalu as the Senate President at this critical period in our nation's history will heal the perceived injustices against the people of the South East region and our unity and peace strengthened" she said.

She also added, "He has been a governor of two successful terms in a state in Nigeria. He has the experience and knowledge to lead the 9th Senate. His ability is never in doubt".

Rev. Chinebu described Kalu as a peace builder, a strong voice for the Igbo Nation, Nigeria and Africa in general

She also prayed for God's wisdom upon the Senator-elect in his expected new assignment.

DO YOU SUPPORT THE CALL FOR APC TO ZONE SP TO S/EAST

http://igberetvnews.com/596330/just-ninth-senate-popular-cleric-predicts-kalu-succeed-saraki/

Mystick:
People who will ordinarily stone S. Easterners for asking for Senate President seat now echos the imbalance because Tinubu said so. What is Tinubu using on these people.
Well, one thing is clear. It is not out of love that Tinubu is saying this, it is for 2023. The North may present their son and support him, then the SW will for sure need the support of SE and SS to stand a chance. That is why he is making this move. But come 2023, it will be a pay back, we will follow the north with their choice. Let's see how Yoruba votes alone will make Osinbajo the President.

Hmm.....

WiLdFLame:
All these foolish south south ..Now that you voted out Akpabio ...I think you are now happy..the position should have gone to south South but lack of political wisdom made them lost it ..

Why SS and not SE?

SS has CJN recently. Had President recently too.

Good move

A lying Senator busted!

@Lalasclara pls do the needful

Why this post no hit front page?

Good

Quality20:
I don't support this o. By d time d courts finally declare Atiku winner of the presidential election, will d igbo Senate president step down? Most likely not. So it then means that igbos will have vice president and Senate president together, that's wont be fair na

You want to deny SE their rightful position due to you permutation on the outcome of a court case. Nawa ooo

Nice

omoowo8888:
Fake news, only Ogboru's candidature was nullified.

How is Ogboru's candidature affected and Omo Agege free? Were both not produced by same faction?

nonsobaba:
I don't think this can hold. Only election tribunals can nullify election results. This judicial rascality being exhibited by judges nationwide is a symptom of the brazen bastardization and commercialization of court judgements as institutionalized by wike the outgoing thug of rivers state.

Really pathetic. We are watching keenly

A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba and presided over by Justice T. B. Adegoke, has nullified the election of Senator Omo-Agege, Igbere TV reports.

http://igberetvnews.com/594665/breaking-court-sacks-delta-apc-candidates/

Three months to the end of the Eight Senate, the battle for succession has begun. Already, some senators who won their reelection bids and others who were recently elected, have joined the race. Out of the key contenders, one is from the Southeast, while three hail from the Northeast. The other is from the North-central.

The key contenders are former governor of Abia State and senator-elect, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ahmad Lawan, who doubles as the current Leader of the Senate, Danjuma Goje and Mohammed Ali Ndume. While Kalu hails from the Southeast, the other three are from the Northeast. Adamu Abdullahi from Nasarawa State in North-central is another senator said to be interesred in the position.

Prior to the National Assembly elections, George Akume from Benue State (North-central) and Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom State (South-south), were among those believed to be among the top contenders.

The February 23 major upsets, which positioned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to produce the majority in the Senate, have also reduced the number of the contenders. The party is yet to zone the various positions to the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Already, President Muhammadu Buhari is from Northwest, while his vice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, hails from Southwest. Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Chief of Staff to the President are from Northeast. The current President of the Senate is from the North-central. Until recently, the South-south had the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). That leaves the Southeast as the only geopolitical zone which has no ranking government official in the hierarchy of power.

Pundits who have commented on the development believe that the ruling APC should adopt the power sharing formula and zoning arrangements of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which favoured equity. According to them, when the PDP held sway for 16 years, no geopolitical zone was deliberately left out.

They further argued that if every geopolitical zone is well represented, unnecessary agitations and misgivings against the Federal Government will fizzle out. A commentor who spoke to Sunday Sun said that zoning the position of Senate President to the Southeast will show that APC has opened up and now ready to implement an inclusive government as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The commentator who doesn’t want to be named, said: “In 2015, APC said it didn’t zone any position to the Southeast because the region didn’t have an elected senator. Even when some Southeast PDP senators later defected to APC, they were not considered because there was no vacancy.

“There was also an argument that President Buhari didn’t get 25 per cent votes in any of the five states in the East. Today, no one can argue along that line. He secured that percentage in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections. The records are there for anyone who is still in doubt to see for himself.

“So, APC has no reason not to accommodate the Southeast. I am aware that some selfish politicians who over rate themselves want the position to be zoned to their region because they feel it’s their birthright. That must not be allowed to happen in this time and season. The right thing should be done.

“I also think that APC leaders from the region need to start speaking up. At this point, silence is no longer golden. Let them demand that the position be zoned to the Southeast. They need to lobby and make a strong case.”

Adding it’s voice to the call, spokesman of Igbo Patriotic Forum (IPF), Anthony Anyim, called on other Nigerian leaders to join hands with President Buhari in advancing the cause of Nigeria.

He urged the leadership of the APC to zone the position of Senate President to the Southeast, adding that Ndigbo had been marginalised by previous administrations.

IPF called on Igbo sons and daughters to support the President Buhari-led government, stressing that the future of Nigeria is bright under the current administration.

He said: “With the results of the February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections, it is glaring that President Buhari is popular and well accepted by the people regardless of party affiliations.

“The votes polled by the President in the 2019 election in the Southeast is more than what he scored in 2015.

The president has executed numerous projects in the Southeast than previous administrations. We appeal to the top echelon of the APC to consider the Southeast for the position of Senate President.

“The President is from the North and the Vice President is from the West. In the spirit of patriotism and equity, Ndigbo should be considered for Senate President. Collectively, all ethnic groups must work together for the sake of national development.”

http://igberetvnews.com/593892/senate-presidency-mindless-marginalisation-seast-must-stop-anyim/

Orji Kalu is the next SP

Former governors who are ranking senators in the incoming 9th Session of the National Assembly have resolved to ensure that one of them emerges the next Senate president, Igbere TV reports.

Some of the ex-governors said to be eyeing the Senate top job include Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa) and Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia) while Senators Ahmed Lawan (Yobe), Aliyu Ndume (Borno) and Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo) are also in the race.

Expectedly, the delay by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to initiate a power sharing formula among the geopolitical regions has led to all manner of groupings and re-groupings in the race for the seat of president of the 9th Senate.

When the seat of Senate president was zoned to the South East and North Central geopolitical zones during the Obasanjo and Yar’Adua presidency respectively, only senators from those regions stepped forward to contest the leadership of the Third Arm of government. But at the moment, it is a free for all.

The campaign is chaotic and multi-pronged in nature, a situation that may be difficult for the APC leadership to manage. A senator who does not want to be named said some members may feel dissatisfied with APC’s late hour settlement and decide to negotiate with the opposition senators the way outgoing Senate president Bukola Saraki did four years ago.

While senators from the North East, North Central and the South West are flexing their political muscles based on how APC fared in the last elections in their zones, the South East is calling for an all-inclusive APC government. LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that former governors newly elected as senators want one of them to be elected the next Senate president.

However, some high ranking senators who have been re-elected have published their curriculum vitae to let Nigerians know how prepared they are to provide good leadership at the Senate. According to the senator, the only possibility for the APC to avoid the manner Saraki, Ike Ekweremadu and Yakubu Dogara emerged as National Assembly leaders on June 9, 2015 against the wishes of the ruling party is for the governing party to come up with a power sharing framework as a matter of urgency.

He said such framework must be all-inclusive and devoid of sentiment against regions that voted for the party or not. “Exclusion and non-appreciation of the Nigerian diversity stood firmly as some of the major faults of the Buhari administration between 2015 and 2019.

‘’I have no doubt that President Buhari can put an end to the continued alienation of South East, for instance, by being the statesman we all want him to be. This he can do using his powers as national leader of APC to ensure that the South East, the third leg of the nation’s tripod, is brought within leadership circles by making sure the president of the 9th Senate is selected from the South East’’, the senator said.

The former governors and deputy governors in the Senate have vowed that one of them will become the Senate president in the 9th Senate, LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt from trusted sources. The governors-turned-senators say it would be wrong for them to come to the Senate and be subservient to their former subjects who used to prostrate before ‘His Excellency’’.

The 15 former governors coming to the 9th Senate include Orji Kalu (Abia North), Theodore Orji (Abia Central), Kashim Shettima (Borno Central), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North), Gabriel Suswan (Benue East), Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Ibikunle Amosu (Ogun Central), Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu East), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano Central), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa South), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa North), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto North), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe East), Abdul’Aziz Yari (Zamfara West) and Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central).

LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the ex-governors had collectively resolved that, irrespective of party affiliation and their individual ranking, they will rally round one of them to be elected as the next Senate president. It is also believed that the current Senate leadership is chairing this group and rooting for a high ranking senator who is an ex-governor.

It was learnt that the ex-governor is being favoured because he was rather non-aligned or did at no time work against the interest of the Senate leadership all the while it was facing pressure from the APC and the presidency. The senator was said to have been tutored not to talk to the press about his aspiration, and not to discuss it with anybody except highly trusted APC senators. A senator from the North Central is said to be coordinating the campaign for the emergence of the ex-governor as the Senate president.

According to a senator who is in the know of the plot, after their inauguration on Monday, June 10, 2019, a member of their group would get up to nominate him irrespective of APC’s choice candidate. He said, ‘’The block vote of opposition senators which would not be fewer than 40 will be given to him; and with pliable APC senators we shall mobilise, he would certainly emerge. One of us shall emerge, by the Grace of God, as his deputy. ‘

’You know, President Buhari does not usually care about the fate that befalls his supporters; hence by the time we promise some APC senators juicy committee chairmanship, they would readily prefer it to the so-called adherence to APC party directives.” He remarked that the former state governors of those in the forefront for the Senate presidency were elected senators on February 23. They are Ibrahim Geidam who comes from the same state as Senate leader, Ahmed Lawan (Yobe), and Kashmir Shettima, from Senator Mohammed Ndume’s Borno State. ‘

’Do you expect them to come here and be answering ‘Yes sir, Your Excellency’ to these senators in case one of them emerges as Senate president? That is why all the governors have agreed to team up for one of them to emerge,’’ he said. Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that Senators Ahmed Lawan, Aliyu Ndume, Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta), Abdullahi Adamu, Benjamin Uwajumogu (APC, Imo North) are vigorously campaigning for the number three position in the country.

Over a week ago, a group known as ‘’National Committee for Legislative Development and Good Governance’’ has published the curriculum vitae of Senator Ahmed Lawan under the banner of ‘’The Senate Leadership Question: Why Senator Ahmad Lawan is the option’’. The group, which is being coordinated by one Iniobong Ukeme John, stated that the last four years had been the worst years of executive/legislative relationship since the return of democracy due to unnecessary bickering, power struggle and selfish agenda to the detriment of national unity and development. ‘

’We must not allow enemies of Nigeria’s progress block and sabotage President Buhari from fighting corruption, developing the economy and providing security to lives and property of Nigerians. ‘’It is time to search, sieve, support and encourage capable hands to lead the National Assembly for a purposeful and robust executive/legislative relationship. ‘’Senator Lawan possesses unequal qualification and is most qualified to lead the 9th Senate in the interest of a robust and purposeful executive/legislative relationship to build an enduring democracy that will effectively and efficiently deliver democratic dividends to Nigerians’’, the group stated.

It is widely speculated that the APC would like to have Ahmed Lawan as the Senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Representatives as the party had planned, and failed, in 2015. It would be recalled that the party’s decision to throw up Lawan and Gbajabiamila then led to a schism among APC lawmakers, enabling the PDP to capitalise on the division and determine the outcome of the June 9, 2015 elections in the National Assembly.

In what could be described as a parliamentary coup d’etat, Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara defied their then party, APC, by emerging Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in a contest that was characterised by subterfuge and guile. That set the tone for the cancerous executive-legislative bickering that slowed down governance in the last four years. But the party is said to be dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to forestall a repeat of such outcome. Despite his purported interest, Senator Ndume has not publicly declared his ambition to be Senate president and no group has backed him in the media, but he is said to be fraternising with the henchmen in the presidency and believes he would be compensated for his role in the high turnover of votes cast for the president in the North East on February 23, 2019.

He was the APC Presidential Campaign Council North East zonal director. Curiously, Senator Omo-Agege, who said last week that President Buhari would give direction to APC on the subject of Senate leadership, has suddenly declared support for Senator Ahmed Lawan’s quest for the job. One would have expected that he would be pairing with Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

Two of them and eight other senators staged a walk-out on their Senate on February 14, 2018 in protest against the adoption of the report by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on the Amendment to the Electoral Act The ten pro-Buhari senators led by Senator Abdullahi had kicked against the new sequence of elections adopted by the apex legislative chamber following the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act. The provision in the bill that irked them was the proposal for the presidential election to come last, rather than first.

The eight other aggrieved APC senators at the time included Binta Garba (Adamawa), the late Ali Wakili (Bauchi), Kurfi Umaru (Katsina), Andrew Uchendu (Rivers), Abdullahi Danbaba (Sokoto), Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi), Abu Ibrahim (Katsina), and Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo). Some groups from the North Central where Senator Abdullahi comes from insist that the zone should be allowed to retain the position of the Senate president since the North West and South West are retaining the positions of president and vice president respectively.

And despite being the zone that gave the APC the least votes in the general elections, the South East is also angling for the Senate top job. In a statement released to newsmen by a socio-political group known as South East Youths and Elders’ Forum to congratulate President Buhari on February 28, the group urged the president and the APC to zone the post of the Senate president to South East geo-political zone since the president and vice president came from the North and South West regions.

The group also noted that since the party maintained its early zoning arrangements, which zoned the post of president to the North, the vice president to the South West and Senate president to the South East, before the party could not produce any senator from the region in 2015 presidential and National Assembly elections, the party should therefore make a categorical statement reaffirming its commitment to the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South East region since the party now has two APC senators from the zone.

It is on this premise that the likes of Benjamin Uwajumogu, who was formerly Imo State Assembly speaker, is latching on to canvass for the seat. Orji Kalu is also said to be arguing that he is also a ranking senator by virtue of his three-month sojourn at the National Assembly during the ill-fated Third Republic during General Babangida’s era. LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt that the APC leadership is expected to meet in Abuja next week to agree on a zoning formula for the six presiding and principal officers of the Senate ahead of its inauguration on June 10. The APC won 65 senatorial seats as against 40 seats secured by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 National Assembly polls.

Apart from the post of Senate president and deputy Senate president, the other offices include Senate leader, deputy Senate leader, Senate chief whip and Senate deputy whip. In line with tradition, the clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Muhammed Sani-Omolori, would on June 10, 2019, read the proclamation letter of President Buhari at the plenary to order the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly.

After the inauguration, which also signifies the end of the 8th National Assembly, the clerk will call for nominations from senators. By the senate rules, only 38 senators need to be present to form a quorum. The newly elected senators will then elect both the Senate president and the deputy Senate president. At the same time, the House of Representatives members will elect the Speaker and the deputy Speaker.

Awol1:
Before I talk to you again, do you now accept that Saraki was a returning senator in 2015?

Was it in contention?

Awol1:
Is that how to say thank you to someone who just schooled you?

At least accept that Saraki qualified for his post.

The argument is not if Saraki was qualified but on which rule?

By your argument, only returning Senators will qualify.

Which means if Saraki or Akpabio runs in 2023 and wins, they will not be qualified for SP

Awol1:
You know I thought I was speaking with an informed person; what a disappointment that I've been wasting my time with a toddler.

Saraki was first elected into the Senate in 2011 under the platform of the PDP, in the run up to 2015 elections, he and other infamous "nPDP" Fools defected to APC and Saraki won reelection under the APC platform. That made him a two term senator which qualified him for the seat of the Senate presidency.

Now, you are gonna pay a fee for this education.

Now between us who is the toddler?

Only a fool will resort to insults to make a point.

Awol1:
By disjointedly, I meant that I didn't know that his presence in the Senate in the third republic would count for him in the present dispensation.

I thought by "ranking", the Senate meant a Senator who has had at least up to two unbroken reelection into the red chambers.

But you are bringing another view to it which I don't know if you are right about, but I'm not gonna argue what I don't have it's facts.

So, fallibilistically, I'm gonna suppose you are right until superior argument and facts dislodge your position.

You are obviously wrong. Did Saraki meet such 'unbroken' requirement?

MrAJQ:
Senate president ko Senator President ni.
Igbos says they don't need Senate President all they want is Biafra.

So those that voted APC in the SE are not Igbos?

Any rule which disqualifies a former Lawmaker and ex Two Terms Governor from contesting for Senate President should be thrown to the trash can.

Quality20:
guy pls can u teach me ancient Scandinavian English

Lolz

Awol1:
Oh! They count it disjointedly? I thought it was at one sitting. Good to see you can join two results like WAEC. lol

And hey, it's "having", not "haven". Except you intend to speak ancient Scandinavian English.

What kind of logic are bringing into the equation?

The Rule simply restricts first timers from contesting for SP.

I dont understand what you mean by "count it disjointedly"

Awol1:
Igbere TV reporting. Lol.

There's a Senate standing rule that only ranking senators can become senate presidents.

Pathetically, the only APC ranking senator from the southeast, Ben Uwajumogu has no clout.

It will also be an uphill task to get northern senators, among whom are interested in the seat, to vote for an alteration to the Senate standing rule to favour Kalu.

Technically, I think southeast stands no chance

Pls do a little research before posting.

By the Senate rule, Kalu is a ranking Senator elect haven been elected to NASS in 1992 under NRC

The convener of Project for National Accommodation, as well as an activist and advocate for peaceful coexistence, Osaretin Bello, supports the Southeast for the position of Senate President, Igbere TV reports.

Although he hails from the South-south, he said in the interest of peace, justice and fairness, the Southeast should be considered first for the position.

He argued: “I don’t see any reason the Southeast particularly would not be accommodated in this government because if you see the outcome of the elections, there is significant improvement from the 2015 in 2019 in terms of voter demography. However, the Southeast deserves a principal position. Like the South-south, they are being accommodated by being given the chairmanship position, the Southwest has the vice president, the Northwest has the president.

“The Northeast has the SGF. These are principal positions and, of course, the Northeast as well has the Speaker. So, there is nothing bad if the Southeast is being compensated with the position of Senate President.

“We have people who are credible from the area. The Southeast was left out in 2015 because they never had a senator elected on the platform of the APC, but now we have senators elected on the platform of the APC.

“We have Rochas Okorocha; we have Orji Uzor Kalu, who is a ranking parliamentarian. Mind you, he was in the House of Representatives before. So, this time around, there are no excuses. The Southeast rightly deserves that position of the Senate President.

“Not giving it to them will lead to a lot of agitations and disharmony. It will look as if a certain party or characters of persons are not needed in a given political space. And I don’t think that is good for our democracy. Democracy is all encompassing. We must have the open hand to accommodate all and sundry. In politics, you work from the position of strength to the position of weakness and we use that as a bait to bring everybody to the centre.

“Mark you, the Southeast holds the economic nerve of this country. They have contributed a lot and in 2015, most of these actors that I have just mentioned were not there. Now that they are on board, what are we talking about? They must be carried along.”

Stay with Igbere TV, Africa’s numero uno.

DO YOU SUPPORT THE CALL FOR APC TO ZONE SENATE PRESIDENT TO SOUTH EAST

Yes or No

Earthquake2:
Theives feel comfortable because of synchophats like you

You know nothing about me.

Chikpat:
You are part of the problem with Nigeria

Again I ask, how?

Chikpat:
He has corruption cases here and there. Looted so much as gov. There are less scandalous people wjo are also qualified and competent for the job

Looted? Says who? You?

Only a court can make such judgment.

Meanwhile, which politician in Nigeria is a saint?

Chikpat:
Interesting and impressive. However, Orji will mot be the senate president.

Like Saraki, he has corruption cases and should not have been elected to go to senate ab initio

Did you say charges? The last time I checked the accused is considered innocent until convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction

Chikpat:
Interesting and impressive. However, Orji will mot be the senate president.

Why? For me he has good chances. Only time shall tell

Seetto:
You forgot to mention thief.....

How much were you paid to outrightly embarrass yourself.

What is embarrassing here?

Wow