Race for Senate presidency: Front-runners and kingmakers (1)

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June, SAMSON FOLARIN and TOPE OMOGBOLAGUN highlight the top contenders for the position of Senate President and those who could determine the eventual holder of the office

Godswill Akpabio

Akpabio is a former Akwa Ibom State governor, who appears to be in a pole position to win the race if the position is zoned to the South-South.  Before contesting for the Senate, Akpabio competed with others for the APC presidential ticket. However, he surprisingly stepped down for the eventual winner of the primary and now president-elect, Bola Tinubu, at the Eagle Square.

Having aborted his presidential ambition, he turned his gaze towards the senate and through a Supreme Court ruling, snatched the ticket for the Akwa-Ibom North-West Senatorial District from Udom Ekpoudom, a retired police officer who emerged as the candidate for the district.

Known for his political sophistry and populism, the former Niger Delta minister could easily rally his colleagues to his cause. But critics argue that Akpabio’s ambition may be drowned by the avalanche of graft cases hanging around his neck.

For instance, in 2021, Akpabio was reportedly detained for trying to bribe the then EFCC chairman but he denied the allegation, saying he had no reason to do so.

In 2020, the anti-graft agency said it was probing corruption allegations against him and the acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Kemebradikumo Pondei.

A few weeks ago, the EFCC opened a fresh case against the former minister. The EFCC, in an invitation letter, asked Akpabio to appear at its office on March 29, 2023, but the senator pleaded for another date in a letter by his lawyer, Umeh Kalu.

Akpabio is said to be close to the top APC hierarchy, which might work in his favour.

Meanwhile, a number of stakeholders have been campaigning for him, stating that the South-South deserved the Senate presidency in view of its support for the APC in terms of votes in the just concluded elections.

One of those rooting for Akpabio is the Senate spokesperson, Basiru Ajibola, who declared that the South-South deserved the position.

The former Senate minority leader is seen as an experienced and qualified candidate for the job. A coalition, including the Arewa Youth Alliance for Equity, Northern Central Consultative Forum for Good Governance, Area Movement for National Unity, APC Northwest Forum Consultative Assembly, and Northern Nigeria Peace Forum, have declared their support for Akpabio.

Osita Isunazo

Another top contender, Senator Izunaso, representing Imo West, is no stranger to the parliament. He was first elected into the Senate in 2007, having served at the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007.

In the last elections, he polled 78,349 votes to beat his closest rival and candidate of the Labour Party, Charles Ahize, who secured 37,029 votes.

He obtained a BA (Hons) from the University of Jos (1989), a post-graduate degree in Journalism from the University of Abuja (1998) and an MBA from the University of Calabar (2002).

Beyond his political appointment, he was Board Chairman, National Automotive Design and Development Council, and founder, Kpakpando Foundation for Persons with Disabilities, which he established in 2005.

He also chaired a number of notable committees such as Rules and Business, Local and Foreign Debts, Housing, Gas, Foreign Affairs and Sports.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, he was responsible for the investigation into an alleged huge increase in the contract sum of the Escravos GTL project from $1.7bn to $5.9bn.

As a party man, Izunaso also held very important positions in the APC. He was a member of the APC Merger Committee (2012-2013); APC Interim National Organising Secretary (2013-2014); substantive APC Interim National Organising Secretary and member of the National Working Committee (October 2014); member, APC National Executive Committee (2014-2018); member, APC National Caucus; chairman, APC State Congress Committee for Yobe; member, APC National Registration and Revalidation Committee (2020); chairman, North-Central APC Registration and Revalidation Committee (2020); and director, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Contact and Mobilisation, South-East (2022-2023).

Izunaso is arguably the oldest-ranking senator from the South-East, having been elected to the Senate for the first time in 2007.

Some weeks ago, Izunazo met with the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and called for the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South-East. He told journalists after the meeting that zoning the position to the region was only fair.

Although his records are believed to be laudable, his popularity among his colleagues will be put to test if the party zoned the Senate presidency to the South-East or threw it open to all interested candidates.

But Izunaso’s supporters are positive that his record of public service, his background in law and journalism, his long-standing experience as a parliamentarian and his reputation as a consensus builder stand him in a good position to become the Senate president.

Sani Musa

Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, who represents Niger East Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, is one of the top contenders for the position of the Senate President.

The ranking senator, who is the current Chairman of, Committee on Senate Services, exhibited his loyalty to the APC when he stepped down for the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Abdullahi, last year, in compliance with the party’s directive.

Musa, who publicly declared his intention some weeks earlier, is qualified to contest and hold any position, going by ranking principle, particularly in the Senate.

The senator is fully aware of the controversy the same-faith ticket of the presidential and deputy presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress generated and had chosen to respect the religious and tribal diversity of Nigeria. The Niger East Senator had offered to sacrifice his ambition and settle for the position of the Deputy Senate President if his zone was not favoured to produce the number three position by the leadership of the APC.

This is despite the fact that his senatorial district produced a total of 157,371 votes in the last presidential election. These votes are more than the whole votes from the South-East region where the president-elect got 127,605.

Musa was born on 11 May, 1965 at Minna, Niger State. He attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he bagged B.Sc in Business Administration in 1990, specialising in Banking and Finance.

He has a postgraduate certificate in International Management at the University of Liverpool, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management at the University of London.

The kingmakers

Nasir El-Rufai

The Kaduna State Governor is a major stakeholder in the APC. The accidental public servant was among the 11 northern governors who backed a southern candidate to be the presidential flag bearer of the party. He was also vocal in defending the candidature of Bola Tinubu, including fighting the cabal who appeared to be against the former Lagos governor during electioneering. He was seen with Tinubu throughout the campaign period and was visible in many media interviews fighting the presidency and the party while defending Tinubu.

Although the candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, won Kaduna State with 554,360 votes, the APC did not perform badly, polling 399,293 votes to come second. While El-rufai has asked to be compensated with the appointment of Abbas Tajudeen as the next Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, his candidate for the office of the Senate president cannot be a pushover.

Remi Tinubu

The wife of the president-elect and incoming First Lady, Remi Tinubu, is a two-time member of the Senate. She represented Lagos Central Senatorial District and sponsored several bills.

Remi’s time in the Senate was not short of drama that made news headlines, as she showed how active she could be in debates and discussions, confronting her colleagues, Smart Adeyemi and Dino Melaye, at various times. In July 2019, she tackled another colleague, Elisha Abbo, from Adamawa State, after the latter was caught on tape assaulting a woman in an Abuja sex toy shop.

Mrs Tinubu is a politician like her husband and understands the game. She will most certainly not sit idly and watch a Senate President emerge without making a significant input.  No doubt, her colleagues will be seeking to be in her good book to get her support for the Senate presidency as she could determine the next holder of the office.