A consequential power struggle is unfolding in the Senate — one that will shape its leadership structure in the next national assembly.
At the centre of the intrigue are Senate President Godswill
Akpabio, Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, and Osita Izunaso, senator
representing Imo west (Orlu), whose political futures are entangled in a
high-stakes contest over succession.
Also in the mix is Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo
state and ex-national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
RULES REWRITTEN
On Tuesday, the senate amended its standing rules to
significantly narrow eligibility for presiding and principal offices.
The revised rules stipulate that only senators with at least
eight years of continuous service in the chamber can contest for the positions
of senate president and deputy senate president.
The amendment also rewrites the pathway to other powerful
offices in the red chamber.
Order 4 provides that the nomination of senators for
presiding offices must strictly follow ranking.
The ranking includes the former senate president, former
deputy senate president, former principal officers, senators who have served at
least one term, former members of the house of representatives, and first-time
senators where others are unavailable.
Order 5 goes further to state that no senator shall be
eligible to contest for any principal office unless he has served at least two
consecutive terms immediately preceding nomination.
The amendment effectively locks out incoming senators in
2027 who were not members of both the 9th and 10th senates from the race for
senate president, deputy senate president, senate leader, chief whip, minority
leader and other influential positions.
Insiders disclosed that the amendment was less about
parliamentary procedure than political calculation.
Before the changes, any ranking senator — defined as one who
had spent at least four years in the national assembly — could contest for
presiding offices.
That provision kept the door open for several heavyweight
politicians seeking a return to the senate in 2027, including Uzodimma, Ifeanyi
Okowa, former governor of Delta, and Ovie Omo-Agege, former deputy senate
president.
ROADBLOCK TO UZODIMMA’S SENATE PRESIDENCY BID
Insiders familiar with the parliamentary manoeuvring revealed that the amendment is a “pre-emptive strike against ambitious
returnees — particularly Uzodinma”.
The Imo governor is eyeing a return to the upper legislative
chamber in 2027.
Last week, the APC stakeholders from Imo west senatorial
district purchased and presented Uzodimma with the ruling party’s senatorial
nomination and declaration of interest form and declared him their preferred
candidate for the senate in 2027.
The Imo APC has also endorsed the governor for the position.
However, if he contests and wins, Uzodimma cannot be sworn in as a senator in
2027 unless he resigns before the end of his tenure.
Uzodimma is no stranger to the upper legislative chamber. He
represented Imo west from 2011 to 2019 before he became governor in 2020 after
a landmark supreme court judgment nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha and
declared him the winner of the governorship contest.
That judgement altered Imo’s electoral timetable. Since
Uzodimma was sworn in on January 15, 2020 — several months after governors
elected in the 2019 general election — the state slipped into an off-cycle
governorship arrangement.
His second term, which began on January 15, 2024, following
his victory in the November 2023 election, is officially billed to end on
January 15, 2028.
The next national assembly is expected to be inaugurated in
June 2027, several months before Uzodimma’s governorship tenure expires.
To return to the senate and be sworn in alongside other
lawmakers, insiders say Uzodimma is considering installing a placeholder
candidate for the Orlu senate seat in 2027 — a trusted ally who would occupy
the position temporarily and relinquish it after the governor completes his
tenure in January 2028.
According to insiders, the governor is also considering
resigning before the completion of his tenure, handing over power to his deputy
to conclude the remaining months of the administration.
That arrangement would shut Izunaso out of a return to the
Senate.
But the new senate rule has extinguished Uzodimma’s path to
the senate presidency, even if he finds his way into the red chamber.
During the deliberation of the senate rule on Tuesday, the
only resistance on the senate floor came from Adams Oshiomhole, senator
representing Edo North, whose own ambitions have been truncated by the
amendment.
The tension erupted into open confrontation on Wednesday,
barely 24 hours after the amendment was passed.
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