10th National Assembly: Parliamentary Lobby Network in Arewa Chides APC's Salihu Lukman

A group known as the Parliamentary Lobby Network in Arewa (PARLNETWORK) has chided APC's National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Mr Salihu Lukman over what it called "attempted religionizing" of Nigeria's post-election reward system, and the misinformation of impressionable Nigerians on how Parliamentary leaders are elected.

In a statement issued to some newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, which was in response to a statement credited to Mr Salihu Lukman in which he spoke against the possibility of Senators electing a Muslim Senate President for the 10th National Assembly, the Convener of the PARLNETWORK, Honorable Salisu Sabo, countered Mr Lukman's views, saying that in electing the presiding Officers of the National Assembly, democratic reward systems and electable candidates must not be confused with a religious agenda.

The group called on Nigerians not to take Lukman's advice with a pinch of salt, adding that such an ill-informed or prejudiced judgement from a senior party official does not represent the character and grand norm of the Nigerian Parliament.

According to the Convener of the group: "the section of the constitution that was misquoted by Mr Lukman was not just wearing an anti-democratic garb, but a total misnomer and stranger to Parliamentary rules, adding that Senators are at liberty to decide and vote for a Senate President with a sound pedigree, competence and character that will satisfy the collective aspirations of Senators and their constituents". He added that "if such section ever applied to Nigeria's post-election political appointment situation, then it only exclusively applies to the political configurations and calculations on appointment sharing within the executive branch of government, which the federal character constitutionally supports".

On its persistent call on Senators of the 10th National Assembly to vote for Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari as the best hand for the Senate Helman's job, the group stressed that its position was based on the need for the President-elect, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to consider the bulk votes he got from the Northwest during the last Presidential election and compensate the region to continue to earn the region's political patronage of the APC.

According to the Secretary-General of the group, Honorable Abdulmumini Ohiare Abdulsalam, the Northwest has since become the electoral powerhouse of the APC, as the region has been very consistent in ensuring the electoral success of the party each time a couple of other regions, especially the South East, made a miserably poor showing in the presidential election.

Honourable Ohiare particularly reeled out electoral statistics based on the percentage voting strength of the region which Mr Lukman's comments appeared to be favoured for the Senate plum. It said even the top contenders from the South East to the coveted seat, like Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, would readily admit that the South East gave miserably poor votes of 5% and 1.4% to the APC both in 2015 and 2023 respectively, adding that were very critical periods during which the party needed the bulk votes of every region to a get transition from one administration to another.

According to him: "In my capacity as a Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate in the outgoing 9th Assembly, I can confirm based on my experience that the Senate can only elect its presiding officers based on its rules, ethics and internal democracy and not based on some parochial considerations like religion or even zoning". Honorable Ohiare added that: "Moreover, the Nigerian Parliament, from lessons drawn from the unfortunate incident of the political coup of the Senator Abubakar Saraki-led Parliamentary bloc in 2015, has proved not to tolerate foreign interference; be it from the party or the executive branch".

Honourable Ohiare posited that zoning or religious considerations within the executive branch could be a fair deal, but in the Nigerian Parliament, especially the Senate, such practices are utterly disgusting and unworkable.

The Senior Parliamentary Adviser called on the APC to reign in on Mr Lukman and advise him to be more circumspect and thoughtful and avoid making such inflammatory statements capable of further dividing the country, sparking tensions and undermining democracy in the Nigeria Parliament.

The group warned that the APC may be trading off its most politically reliable region for a region not known to substantially support and vote for the APC if people like Mr Lukman are allowed to continue to use the party to scuttle the Senate Presidency bid of the Northwest.

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Source: Legit.ng