Senator-elect from Kano South for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila, has predicted that Abdullazeez Yari, the former governor of Zamfara State, will become the new senate president.
Sumaila asserts that political parties will not have any influence over who the 10th National Assembly’s presiding officers will be; only elected MPs will.
Sumaila stated as much during a press conference held in the National Assembly.
He predicted that Yari will be inaugurated as the 10th Senate’s president on Tuesday of the following week.
“The constitution is clear on how the senate’s president and vice president shall be chosen. For instance, the selection processes for the presiding officers of the senate are outlined in Chapter 2 of the 9th Standing Orders of the Senate 2022 (as modified).
A president and deputy president of the senate shall be elected by the members of that house from among themselves, according to Section 50(1)a of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended).
Additionally, section 50(1)b states that “the members of the House of Representatives shall elect from among themselves a speaker and a deputy speaker.”
We can all remember the incidents of the 7th and 8th National Assembly, so it is obvious that the election of these presiding officers is solely an internal matter that only affects members of the National Assembly. As a result, they should be allowed to choose who among them would fill the positions.
“In my opinion, outside interference in the selection of the National Assembly’s next presiding officers would not only contravene the Nigerian Constitution’s provisions and the Senate’s and House of Representatives’ respective standing rules, but it would also lead to serious misunderstandings between the legislative and executive branches of government.”
He claimed that desperate politicians were attempting to impose their will on both chambers by using undemocratic methods, which is against democracy and undemocratic.