By Nathaniel Zacchaeus and Godwin Okoro
The Senate yesterday resumed plenary after about two weeks’ recess during which they participated in the congresses and conventions of their political parties.

No fewer than 70 per cent of the senators lost their bid to return to the red chamber.

At the resumed plenary on Tuesday, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan announced the resignation of the Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, and the Majority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.

He said their resignation followed their defection from their political parties under which platform they got elected into the Senate.

Lawan said Abdullahi, in his letter of resignation, attributed his decision to his defection from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party.

He also said that Abaribe on the other hand defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Lawan in yet another letter notified his colleagues that the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Adamu Aliero, has defected from the APC to the PDP.

The Senate President, therefore, directed the Chief Whip, Senator Orji Kalu, to relocate both the former Senate Leader and his colleague in the minority caucus, to other seats.

Abaribe’s, defection to APGA and formal exit as Minority Leader was deferred as a result of the inability of the Senate President, to come with his defection and resignation letter to plenary.

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He said Abaribe’s letter would be formally read on the floor before his exit as Minority Leader.

On the other hand, the formal defection of Senators Abdullahi and Aliero from Kebbi State was conveyed in two separate letters addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and read on the floor during plenary on Tuesday.

Both lawmakers represent Kebbi North and Kebbi Central Senatorial Districts, respectively.

The defection of the APC Senators brings the total number of PDP Senators to 39 from the previous 38, with the exclusion of Abaribe who is set to formally defect from the opposition party to APGA today (Wednesday).

It also cuts down on the number of APC Senators from 71 to 69 in the upper chamber.

The Senate Leader, in his letter titled, “Defection From APC to PDP And Resignation As The Majority Leader Of The 9th Senate”, said his decision was informed by the democratic challenges and deficits faced by the APC in Kebbi State.

He explained that all attempts to remedy the situation through the intervention of North-West Zone Governors’ and the defunct Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee failed.
The text of Abdullahi’s:s letter read in part, “I write to inform you of the withdrawal of my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and consequently resign from my position as the Majority Leader of the 9th Senate.

“I came to this decision after a very hard struggle with my conscience and emotions. It is either to remain on the side of my people or to selfishly look the other way. All politics is local.

“I cannot therefore in good conscience, continue to work for the success of this administration at the centre while the people of my state, my primary constituency, continue wallow in abject poverty and destitution under the misrule and manipulation of a despot.

“I have, therefore, decided to pitch my tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join forces with my compatriots at home who are struggling against incompetence, imposition, and violation of democratic norms, principles, and practices.”

Aliero also cited the same reasons advanced by Abdullahi as reasons for his defection.

Attempts by Senators Phillip Aduda, George Thompson, and Gabriel Suswan, to stop the relocation of Abaribe because he had not formally communicated his decision to his caucus, were frustrated by the Senate President.

He also advised Senator Betty Apiaffi, to seek legal redress when she cited constitutional provisions which required the defectors to lose their seats.

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Meanwhile, the Senate President has advised his colleagues who lost the just concluded primary elections at various levels to take heart and continue to pursue what they believe in.

He also wished those who defected to other political parties well and advised them to hope for better opportunities in the nearest future.
Lawan called on lawmakers to stay committed to the political system of their respective parties not minding the outcome of the just concluded primaries.

The chamber, suspended the plenary on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, to enable lawmakers to participate in the primaries of political parties.

Lawan, in his welcome address, also underscored the need for the Senate to prioritise the nation’s security challenges, as well as undertake further amendments to the Electoral Act.

According to him, the electoral process in the just concluded primaries has thrown up issues that must be critically looked at by the National Assembly.

Speaking on the outcome of the party primaries, he said, “Some of us participated in the congresses for their senatorial districts, some of our colleagues went for the governorship of their states, and four of us went for the presidency of our great country.

“We have recorded different results from those activities, but as politicians, it is never over until It is over. We should continue to support the political system that we believe in.

“Those of our colleagues who have recorded successes, we wish them more successes in the general elections.
“[And] those of who have not succeeded as much, we are hopeful that between now and then, the situation may be better.
“But on the whole, our commitment to ensuring that this democracy benefits from legislative Interventions of the National Assembly should remain our focus. As a Parliament, we still have issues that require our legislative intervention.
“The security of our country still needs our attention and, therefore, I urge all of us to continue from where we stopped before we went on recess, in giving due and desired attention for the improvement of the security of our citizens.
“The electoral process may have thrown up certain issues that the National Assembly could also look at and address, because the electoral act itself, even though a good document, is not a perfect document. So, it needs some refinement from time to time to improve our electoral process.”

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* Gbajabiamila laments blow to Reps too

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the large number of legislators who failed to get their party ticket to return to the House in 2023 was a big loss to the democratic process in the country.

No fewer than 75 lawmakers, who either failed to secure their party tickets or contest for other positions, may not be returning to the 10th National Assembly next year.

Addressing his colleagues yesterday when the House resumed from its break to allow members to participate in their party primaries, Gbajabiamila said the losses suffered by the members were not because they were rejected by their constituents, but because of the process that the lawmakers foresaw and tried to remedy through the Electoral Act.

He said many members of the House across political party lines lost their primaries because they were not even given a fair shot, saying “when we fought for direct primaries in this house, we knew exactly what we were saying.”

He said “It is essential to the practice of democracy that elected representatives must, at intervals, return to the electorate to give an account of our service and seek a renewal of our mandate to serve. This periodic renewal of the mandate gives the democratic government legitimacy.

“It allows us to act in the name of the people who elected us. And it ensures that we conduct ourselves in the office knowing that we will give an account of our decisions and the priorities we chose to pursue in due time.

“The past two months have been dominated by political pursuits across the country as political parties carry out various activities to nominate their candidates for the forthcoming general elections. All of us, members of the House of Representatives, have not been exempt from this process.

“Unfortunately, as is always the case in electoral contests, some of us who sought the nomination of our parties to return to legislature have not gotten it. Others who sought nomination to contest other positions have also fallen short in that quest.

“It is rather unfortunate that the process went the way it went. I make bold to say here that the legislature has once again suffered losses. The loss is not for members who lost, it is a loss to democracy, the institution, and the country.
“If it means anything, I know and I am aware that many of our members did not lose their primaries because they were rejected by their constituents. Many of our members lost because of the process, the process which we foresaw in the House of Representatives. The delegate system unfortunately is not what a delegate system is supposed to be.

“Many of our members lost because they were not even given a fair shot. We have good legislators, both here in the chambers and back home, who are probably not coming back because of this same process. When we fought for direct primaries in this house, we knew exactly what we were saying.

“It pains me very deeply, that the process has gone the way it has gone. We will continue to push and continue to fight for our members, for democracy, for the institution and this country”.

The Speaker told his colleagues that they are not defined by the outcome of any election at any one time, saying “what defines us before God and our fellow men is what we do in the time we have in public office and on earth.

He reminded them that “the Electoral Act 2022 may well be among the most significant legislation passed in this 9th Assembly. We have already begun to witness the implementation of this new legislation and draw lessons that will guide future reform efforts.”