N/Assembly leadership polls and its unsung heroes

Two of the heroes who may not have been accorded commensurate accolades for the positive outcomes of last Tuesday’s elections of the presiding officers of the National Assembly are Adams Oshiomhole and Mohamed Ataba Sani-Omolori. Oshiomhole is the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while San-Omolori is the Clerk to the National […]

Two of the heroes who may not have been accorded commensurate accolades for the positive outcomes of last Tuesday’s elections of the presiding officers of the National Assembly are Adams Oshiomhole and Mohamed Ataba Sani-Omolori. Oshiomhole is the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while San-Omolori is the Clerk to the National Assembly. (CNA). These two gentlemen, whose roles were largely played out backstage, eventually share the honour of having their individual visions and enterprise, driving the electoral exercise to its recorded roaring success. Hence if the cascade of accolades for the emergent leadership of the National Assembly misses their ports, it should not be unusual, nor are they alone. After all, the main narratives of history often do not capture the enterprise of back stage operatives.

The APC eventually won all the four offices of the presiding officers in the two chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives, thanks to the positive playout of party supremacy. The catch in the drama was not just that the earlier assertion by Oshiomhole ,the National Chairman, that the party would claim all the leadership slots in the establishment had been fulfilled, rather it was the complement of circumstances that surrounded such expectation that accentuate the development. The party had gone into the election of presiding officers against a backdrop of clear majority of elected members in both the Senate and House of Representatives – a factor that should have availed its leadership the privilege of taking things for granted and go to sleep. Based on such advantage it remained notional that whoever the APC nominated would automatically clinch the seat. Hence the party nominated its candidates for the various offices namely   Ahmed Lawan for Senate President, Femi Gbajabiamila for Speaker House of Representatives, Ovie Omo-Agege for Deputy Senate President and Ahmed Wase for Deputy Speaker.

But such a liberty was denied the APC when it faced a twist of circumstances as opposition to the party’s position came from right inside its ranks with the party’s positions contested by Ali Ndume for the Senate President’s office and Umar Baga for the Speaker’s office. While this development was a direct challenge to the authority of the party, it also demonstrated the internal capacity of the APC to accommodate dissenting views within its ranks without untoward consequences. This is attested to by the fact that the dissenting members of the party were allowed free rein to contest the offices to the last point and were duly defeated in a transparent ballot system. This situation constitutes a contrast to what happened to the APC in 2015 during which the cacophony of dissenting voices cascaded into a crescendo and facilitated a break in the party’s ranks which led to a mismanagement of its electoral success of majority status in both houses even at that time. The price the APC paid was the loss of the topical seat of the Deputy President to the rival PDP.

Without equivocation the turn-around in the fortunes of the APC cannot be isolated from the advocacy for enthronement of party supremacy with the most pronounced advocate of same being Adams Oshiomhole. It is easily recalled that the enthronement of party supremacy had been his advocacy since coming into office.  He had assumed office at a time when the APC was at its most factionalised state. This state of affairs haunted the party until the arrival of Oshiomhole to take over from Chief John Odigie Oyegun.  The prevalence of the factionalisation of the party permeated the prelude to the primaries elections in respect of the 2019 polls.  In many states the party suffered from a rash of mutual recrimination among party big wigs, with the consequential proliferation of party caucuses.

However, while the benefits of unity of purpose garnered from the playout of party supremacy have been amply demonstrated by the positive results for APC in the National Assembly polls, the matter cannot be rested with the federal legislature, as more needs to be done. That is if the APC shall maintain the momentum so garnered from the foregoing. The onus now lies with the party hierarchy to rally round Oshiomhole, and expand the terrain of party supremacy interests and operations, including the execution of government projects and plans by the MDAs and the public bureaucracy under the supervision of the Presidency. In this context lies the imperative for even President Muhammadu Buhari to facilitate the subjection of his lieutenants such as ministers, ambassadors and other aides to the sway of supremacy of the APC leadership, in his own interest. This will call for a deliberate intervention by the President to forestall likely breaches by designated operatives of the APC led government.  Easily recalled is the face-off between the former Minister of Labour and Dr Chris Ngige and Oshiomhole, soon after the latter assumed duty as National Chairman. Another instance of breach of party supremacy remains the long drawn out conflict between Oshiomhole and former Governor of Imo State and now Senator Rochas Okorocha. The fallouts from these two incidents – among many others clearly illustrate the questionable dividends from a political party washing its dirty linen in public.

The doctrine of party supremacy also dictates that the executive concedes compliance to the recommendations of the National Assembly as its own parliament, one with which it enjoys political congruence.

*Mohamed Ataba Sani- Omolori

Up to the moment inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly, not a few Nigerians had nursed a gnawing feeling that something untoward could trail the exercise. The main concern was over which voting system – (between open and secret) would be used for the exercise. It would be recalled that following the controversy associated with the interpretations of the provisions of the 2011 and 2015 editions of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the debate over open and secret ballot remained inconclusive. Some concerned legislators-elect had even obtained a court injunction restricting the management from adopting the secret ballot system and drew his attention to the development. Although Sani-Omolori was not under any obligation to be guided by an injunction which he had not sighted before the ceremony, he nevertheless demonstrated respect for the distinguished Senators-elect by notifying them politely of his inadequacy to respond to a court order he had not sighted formally.

The foregoing notwithstanding, Sani-Omolori, like the legendary Alexander the Great who several centuries ago, resolved the ‘Gordian Knot’ riddle with just a swipe of his sword, resolved the ballot riddle with his “Secret Open” Ballot system. Minutes before he announced the double barreled option, there was a heightened sense of anticipation over which way he would go. His announcement of the ‘Secret-Open’ ballot eventually brought a general sigh of relief to the gathering in the hallowed Senate Chambers and Nigerians across the country.  The rest is history   as the elections were successfully and satisfactorily conducted.

Congratulations for your dexterity and sense of mission, Mohamed Ataba Sani-Omolori, as another feather of honour ascends your hat.