The race for the leadership positions in the soon-to-be inaugurated 10th National Assembly, particularly the Senate Presidency, is growing hotter by the day with a lot of lobbying and horse-trading going on. From an initial list of nine aspirants, comprising Osita Izunaso (Imo West Senatorial District); Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North Senatorial District); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North Senatorial District); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi South Senatorial district); Abdul Aziz Yari (Zamfara West Senatorial District); Sani Musa (Niger East Senatorial District), Jubril Barau (Kano North Senatorial District) and Ali Ndume (Borno South), the number has been pruned to four: Kalu, Yari, Izunaso and Akpabio.
While Akpabio appears to be the favoured one on account of his endorsement by the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the trio of Kalu, Yari and Izunaso have remained unperturbed and are carrying on with their consultations. However, Yari seems to be the only who is ready to give all it takes, including ‘breaking the bank,’ to emerge senate president. He has been the most vocal, shooting down Tinubu’s endorsement and insisting that the senate presidency will be based on constitutional provisions backed by the 1999 Constitution, which allows senators to choose their leaders within themselves and not based on instructions from anyone.
Yari may be right in that regard as anyone familiar with National Assembly politics knows that imposition does not stand. Past attempts to impose leaders of the National Assembly failed, only succeeding in 2019 because the lawmakers accepted their leaders. Yari knows this and that is why he is going against the party’s consensus candidate and hopes it will work in his favour.
Another thing Yari is drawing strength from to challenge Tinubu’s imposition is support from Bello Matawalle, the outgoing governor of Zamfara State who was sacked during the recent Governorship Election in the state. Matawalle figured that since he was defeated in the election by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dauda Lawal, a former Executive Director in First Bank of Nigeria, who was accused of helping former Nigeria Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to launder about $55million, he may as well back his fellow kinsman so that in the event he emerges Senate President, it will be to his own benefit. How?
Well, Matawalle who has been in the news for attacking and accusing government officials in the presidency and the boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of corruption isn’t giving just verbal support to Yari; he is willing to back him with a huge war chest.
The money that the outgoing governor has set aside to execute the ‘Yari for senate president project,’ THEWILL reliably gathered, is the proceeds from the goldmines in Zamfara State. So huge is the war chest that not only has it been used to book almost all the rooms in the Hilton Hotel, Abuja, for intense lobbying and consultations with senators, Yari is reportedly giving every senator he successfully lobbies to be on his side, $1 million, that is about N750 million. Matawalle was only able to organise this humongous war chest on behalf of Yari because rather than the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to insist that gold mined in Zamfara be shared by all federating units, like the proceeds of oil in the Niger Delta, Buhari allowed Matawalle a free rein on managing the goldmines as he deems fit, as well as the proceeds from it.
Yari’s ambition to become President of the Senate may likely be successful, particularly with the newly elected senators, most of whom may be unable to turn down the mouth-watering offer. Add that to the fact that some of the returning senators are willing to back his aspiration, he may just be coasting home to victory. But in less than two weeks, Nigerians will get to know if his monetary inducement will help him realise his ambition or not.
