The election of the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is, no doubt, an exclusive responsibility of the 109 members of the Senate. However, considering the enormous constitutional powers of the Senate and the consequences of the disposition of any person that occupies the office of the Senate President on the stability of the polity and the sustenance of the tenets of democracy, there is an implied inescapable obligation on the citizenry to take more than a passing interest in who emerges as the President of the Senate at any time, particularly in the imminent 10th Senate.
At no time in the history of Nigeria, from the era of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as the first Senate President of Nigeria through the turbulence of the tenure of Prince Abyssinia Akweke Nwafor Orizu who eventually handed over to the first Military Government down to the present 9th Senate, has the need for a mentally stable, physically prepared, widely acceptable, politically irreproachable and result-oriented candidate for that office been as pronounced and profound as it is at this moment. This is informed by the deep-seated quest of Nigerians for a Senate and, by extension, a National Assembly that will constitute a pivot for national economic rejuvenation through functional legislations, ethno-religious cohesion and over sight functions that promote the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the review of the various international treaties and protocols entered into by Nigeria in such forms as to serve the present realities of the country.
The just concluded 2023 general elections were yet another referendum and on the need to sustain the principle of rotation of elective public offices. Whereas, the genesis of the further decimation of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) started from its jettisoning of the principle of rotation of the office of the President of Nigeria amongst the various geo-political zones as contained in its Constitution.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by the whiskers mainly on account of protest votes. This protest was informed by the zoning of the office of the President to the Southwest zone as against the logical understanding that the Southeast geo-political zone which has never produced an Executive President of Nigeria should be supported in that regard. The surge of the “Obedient Movement” in the last elections was largely a protest against the perceived electoral marginalization of the Southeast zone by the two major political parties.
Furthermore, it was a huge sacrifice that many Christian adherents voted for the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Muslim, and Alhaji Kashim Shettima, another Muslim, as his running mate. This historical watershed in religious tolerance is coming about thirty years after the Abiola/Kingibe commendable experiment of June 12, 1993.
In all, the ruling All Progressives Congress survived the two major political adventures of choosing its Presidential candidate from the Southwest zone, not quite long after President Olusegun Obasanjo from the same zone, as against the overwhelming sentiment that it should be the turn of the Southeast; and presenting two Muslims as its Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates in a clear departure from the convention of blending the two major religions in the choice of joint tickets for elective Executive political offices.
Having come this far in achieving electoral successes in both the Presidential and National Assembly elections, attention has now shifted to the 10th National Assembly, particularly the Senate, which shall be inaugurated sometime in June, 2023. The character of the leadership of the Senate shall, to a very significant extent, determine the ability of the incoming Federal Government to deal with the deluge of socio-economic and political challenges that have continued to stunt the advancement of Nigeria. The choice of the next Senate President should be a conscious effort to address the current obvious ethno-religious imbalance with an eye on a consistent, focused, result-oriented, tolerant, loyal, astute and cerebral administrator with penchant for teamwork.
The Southeast geo-political zone has, no doubt, played major roles in stabilizing the present democracy and promoting the Nigeria project. The zone has shown a further commitment to national integration by moving from a non-APC zone in 2015 to the present two APC States of Imo and Ebonyi States. In the diligence and calculations that have projected the zone to the mainstream national politics, the roles of His Excellency, Engr. (Chief) David Nweze Umahi, FNSE, FNATE, CON, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State and the Senator elect for Ebonyi South Senatorial District are brave, outstanding and cannot be over-emphasized.
For the records, Governor Umahi had developed himself as a very successful entrepreneur with investments in the construction, oil and gas and hospitality industries before venturing into politics. He was the Ebonyi State chapter chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Deputy Governor and elected for two tenures as Governor. His being a stickler to details who has foresight exposed to him the lack of transparency and integrity, dearth of discernible agenda and absence of sense of purpose and honesty in the intentions of the Peoples Democratic Party towards conceding the Presidential ticket of the Party to the Southeast zone. A combination of these factors and his desire to chart a progressively productive path for his people informed his decision to leave the Party.
The carpet crossing of Governor Umahi from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress barely two years to the 2023 general election and at a time his indubitable mileage in infrastructural and human capital development in Ebonyi State had so much endeared him to the people and earned him an indisputable prominence caused a big storm and created a huge ripple in the national polity.
The actions of Governor Umahi since he joined the All Progressives Congress have been well articulated, decisive, productive and successful. It did not take long for him to engrave his presence in the politics of the Party at the Local, State and National levels. He conducted a successful and widely accepted State, Local Government Area and Ward Congresses, and was one of the outstanding active sponsors and participants at the subsequent national convention of the Party. In a further demonstration of his democratic credentials, he conducted a very credible Local Government Council election in Ebonyi State even when he had the option of appointing Caretaker Committees for the Local Government Councils.
At the 2022 Presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress, Governor Umahi was a very strong contender for the Presidential ticket of the Party, and was graceful in defeat. He genuinely embraced the electioneering campaign of the eventual winner, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the present President-elect.
The astute nature and brinkmanship of Governor Umahi got properly ventilated in the electoral fortune of the All Progressives Congress in the just concluded general elections. From a Party that had no single Councilor as lately as 2020, the candidates of the Party won the three Senatorial District seats in the State, three out of the six House of Representatives positions, with the result of one still outstanding, eighteen out of the twenty House of Assembly seats already declared (re-run elections are to be conducted in parts of two State constituencies), thirteen Chairmen in the thirteen Local Government Councils in the State and all the Councillorship positions.
The icing on the cake, however, is the victory of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Governorship election. The Governor-elect, the Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru was identified and groomed for the office by Governor Umahi.
The journey to these victories in a State that had hitherto been a traditional base of the Peoples Democratic Party was both arduous and tortuous, but the tenacity of Governor Umahi and the resilience of Ebonyi people prevailed.
All these were achieved within two years of his joining the All Progressives Congress. What further proof of political viability and electoral virility is expected of Governor Umahi?
Has Governor added value to the All Progressives Congress, as a Party, and humanity, in general? The answer is abundantly in the affirmative. A coach is as good as his last game, as the saying goes. Though the contributions of this consummate administrator to the electoral successes and political dominance of the All Progressives Congress are inestimable, his ultimate prowess lies in his ability to court, nurture and sustain productive camaraderie across social classes, tribes, religions and partisan learnings.
In addition, Governor Umahi, though an Engineer by profession, has a very deep understanding of the law making procedures and rules of interpretation. These extraordinary skills are not happenstance, but results of his innate interest in knowledge acquisition and expansion.
Considering the political and economic juncture Nigeria presently finds itself, Governor Umahi is best equipped to serve as the President of the 10th Senate. It is appreciated that so much is being said about the rules of the Senate which places premium on “ranking” as one of the conditions for the emergence of a new Senate President. However, our political history is replete with situations where existing rules and conditions had to be adjusted in order to tackle prevalent realities. The impasse that attended the inability of the late President Umoru Musa Yar’adua to formally transfer power to the then Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan before he, Yar’adua, became terminally ill was resolved by the invocation of an expedient “DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY”.
Also, Distinguished Senator Ken Nnamani became a Senate President as a first term Senator. His tenure is still celebrated as a result of some deft political maneuvers he superintended at a time our democracy was at a precipice. The wisdom Solomon, therefore, does not come with the age of Methuselah.
Governor Umahi has shown competence in all the public endeavours he has so far undertaken. He has strength of character, loyal to country, Party, superiors, colleagues and friends, knowledgeable and articulate in the areas that matter most, detribalized and urbane in the areas that build bridges of socio-political, economic and religion cohesion, and understands the factors required for Nigeria’s discernible progress.
For a proper and effective integration of the Southeast geo-political zone, the good of the country and the growth of humanity, the Senators of the 10th Senate, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, the President and the President-elect should consider and accept Governor Umahi as the unanimous choice for the office of the President of the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This recommendation is supported by the fact that the choice of Umahi as Senate President will not contravene any provision of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) or any other extant law.