NASS leadership as Buhari’s albatross

The All Progressives Congress (APC), which took over power on May 29 from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is presently in a fix over the rebellion of some of its members that led to the emergence of a leadership at the National Assembly it was not disposed to.

The leadership of the ruling party had wanted Senators Ahmed Lawan and George Akume as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively as well as Hons. Femi Gbajabiamila and Mohammed Monguno as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively, but the rug was pulled off its feet by some of its own who felt that the legislators should be allowed to pick their choice.

In a repeat of the 2011 scenario that saw some PDP legislators rebelling against their party’s leadership, Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu emerged as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, while Hons. Yakubu Dogara and Lasun Yusuf emerged Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

While Saraki, Dogara and Yusuf are members of the ruling party, Ekeweremadu belongs to the opposition PDP. Expectedly the leadership of the APC tagged their action as disrespect to the party and threatened sanction though it has made a detour and accepted the development.

The acceptance, notwithstanding, the implication of the National Assembly leadership election is that that APC has lost control of the legislative arm of government despite its majority status. It also means that the legislature has asserted its independence by electing its own leaders without external interference.

It further implies that just like the PDP could not claim ownership of Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker between 2011 and 2015, the APC cannot claim ownership of Saraki and Dogara. The duo’s emergence was purely that of PDP. Their allegiance is likely to be for the PDP.

But, there are options for the ruling party. One, the party will have to accept its fate and reconcile its members to support the executive. The party cannot expect to do otherwise if it wants smooth governance. President Muhammadu Buhari cannot expect robust cooperation from the National Assembly with Saraki in charge.

If the APC fails to reconcile with Saraki, he will be on his way back to the PDP. Although the judgement of the Supreme Court forbids elected office holders cross carpeting except there is a clear division in the party, Saraki who is in firm control of APC structures in Kwara State and in good terms with his governor, Abdufatah Ahmed, could engineer crisis in the party thus creating room for his eventual defection to the PDP. This was the initial fear of the APC. But it is now a reality waiting to happen.

Though the Senate President has dismissed fears of returning to the PDP, one thing is clear: President Buhari and the APC leadership failed abysmally in resolving the impasse over the National Assembly leadership. The party was dilly dallying on the zoning question. In one breath, there was no zoning and in another breath there was zoning.

Again, President Buhari acted too late. The questions being asked are: How could a president summon a meeting with the APC lawmakers on the day the National Assembly would be inaugurated? What was he waiting for all along until the D-day? According to analysts, he failed in political tactics.

It was also argued that the president failed to pull the party together. While the crisis over the National Assembly leadership lingered, the president showed less interest whereas his loyalists were in the camp of Lawan.

Against this backdrop, analysts and observers insist that there is no way Buhari’s administration won’t suffer for this political miscalculation. It is the belief in some quarters that the emergence of Saraki and Dogara has given the PDP a hold of the National Assembly, and it will not only provide vital opposition to the APC-led government but will checkmate the government.

For the APC, it has been humbled. The party seems to have lost its moral compass on its members and has failed the first test of party discipline. Surely, more members may flout its directives.

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