N’Assembly Election: Nigeria’s ‘Game of Thrones’

Despite the All Progressive Congress (APC) holding majority seats in both houses of Nigeria’s National Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives, candidates backed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of recently defeated President Goodluck Jonathan managed to get elected.

The shocking defeats suffered by the preferred candidates of the ruling APC in Tuesday’s National Assembly elections have highlighted the major cracks in the coalition that brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power in May.

Tuesday’s outcome was predicted by some political monitors

In an April 30, 2015 report: “Minority PDP May Determine House Speaker” Leadership Newspaper submitted that in the House of Representatives, a bloc vote from the PDP House caucus which has about 140 lawmakers, as against the APC’s over 200 lawmakers will swing the House leadership in the direction it pleases – APC zoning notwithstanding.

The foregoing played out in the National Assembly election when Senator Bukola Saraki defied his party’s controversial consensus arrangement which favoured Senator Ahmad Lawan to emerge the president of the 8th Senate with 57 votes, largely comprising bloc votes from the 49 senators of the PDP.

The APC leadership had gathered the party’s legislators for a purported meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, when in Lawan’s absence, Saraki backed by his supporters pushed for a vote in the Senate with the help of the clerk who said the 57 senators present (out of 108) constituted a quorum.

READ ALSO: Bukola Saraki: APC Member, PDP Apologist

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP member was re-elected deputy president of the 8th Senate for a record third time.

In the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara emerged the Speaker, defeating the preferred candidate of the APC, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

Dogara was declared winner by the clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, after beating Gbajabiamila in a tightly contested election by eight votes – 182 votes to 174. Two votes were voided.

Again, Dogara’s 182 votes consisted largely of PDP’s bloc vote.

‘Strange bedfellows’

The election of former governor and two-term Sen. Bukola Saraki as head of Nigeria’s Senate — the third most powerful figure in the country, presents the biggest blow for the ruling APC and Buhari’s administration.

While Saraki had defected to Buhari’s side last year, it was his old colleagues in the PDP that voted him in.

Later that day, another PDP defector Yakubu Dogara was elected head of the House of Representatives, narrowly defeating the candidate of Buhari’s coalition once again.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: See How Bukola Saraki Was Sworn In

Clearly, having opponents in powerful positions in the legislature will not make newly elected President Muhammadu Buhari’s job any easier, especially since his own coalition is made up of politicians from different political persuasions, including defectors from the PDP which was defeated after a 16-year rule.

The Associated Press reports that the two victories for the PDP could be a sign that it is rebuilding its power base following its electoral defeat and could pose a threat to Buhari just days after his May 29 inauguration.

Reacting to Saraki and Dogara’s emergence, former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, said: “Since 1999, the PDP is known for playing national politics and we will continue to do just that, whether we are in the opposition or not.”

He described APC as “a congregation of strange bed fellows”.

Political filibustering

Tuesday’s development solidifies the PDP’s resolve to present a strong opposition to the Buhari administration. Monitors say badly needed socio-economic reforms that need legislative approval may suffer.

Nigeria’s attempt at constitutional, electoral, anti-corruption, judicial, health, power, federal structure, security and oil and gas reforms may be frustrated by political filibustering by the opposition controlled National Assembly.

The immediate past 7th National Assembly failed to pass the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill, a re-occurring development that have greeted past assemblies which have failed to pass the bill since its introduction in 2008. The same fate could face the bill amongst other crucial legislations in the new 8th Assembly.

READ ALSO: President Buhari Reacts To Saraki’s, Dogara’s Election

Well, Buhari says even though he would have preferred the outcome of Tuesday’s National Assembly election to have gone the way his party, APC, fashioned it, he was ready to work with the newly elected leaders.

Saraki said the new Senate will make laws that will reform the oil sector, the security systems, diversify our economy, create jobs and make doing business in Nigeria more competitive.

Dogara said the 8th House will wage a “mortal combat with the cancer of corruption, incompetence, insecurity, bad governance and infrastructural decay. We shall wage an unrelenting legislative war on insecurity, unemployment, poverty, lack of power supply, educational inadequacies, health problems and social decay.”

Dogara promised to work in harmony with Buhari’s administration and the Senate to bring about the “change” voted for by Nigerians in the last general elections.

Lofty promises many will say. Time will tell.

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