IT was John Emerich Edward Dalberg – Action, (January 10, 1834 – June 19, 1902), better known as Lord Action, who gave the world one of its famous quotes: ‘’Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’’. Lord Action was an English Catholic historian, liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individual liberty, Action was best known for his observation on the dangers of concentrated authority. It was in a 1887 letter to an Anglican Bishop that he famously wrote the above quote, underscoring his belief that unchecked power poses the greatest threat to human freedom.
That is what is presently playing out in Nigeria, where politicians are already planning, scheming, and making laws for their selfish ambitions. They arrogate so much power to themselves that institutions that are there to check their excesses have been cripped.
The floor of the Nigerian Senate witnessed one of such absurd moments recently, when Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, came up with a self-aggrandizing law for his self-preservation. This law has now been termed ‘the Akpabio Law’.
With more than a year to go before the expiration of the 10th Assembly, the special breed of Nigerian politicians are already scheming for positions ahead of the inauguration of the 11th Assembly.
According to the ‘Akpabio Law’, in the coming 11th Senate, nobody can be Senate President “unless he has been elected and served as a Senator for at least two full terms of eight years, one of which shall immediately precede such election.”
The amendment to the Senate Stading Rules also rewrote the pathways to other powerful offices in the Red Chamber. Order 4 provides that the nomination of Senators for presiding offices must strictly follow ranking. The order of 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 who were not members of the 9th and 10th Assemblies from the race for Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader, Chief Whip, Minority Leader, and other influential positions.
But the amendment had to be further amended barely 48 hours after the controversial session ended, as Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, came up with another amendment, which, according to his wisdom, will address their putting the cart before the horse. “Election of the officers will have to take place as it has always been, before the swearing-in of Senators,” Opeyemi said, in explaining how they breached Section 52 of the 1999 Constitution while enacting the ‘Akpabio Law’. Of course, the ‘minor error’ was immediately corrected and the new rule still stands.
But to what end, one might ask? The law was simply put in place to allow Akpabio continue as Senate President beyond 2027. Here is a lawmaker that cannot predict what will happen in the next 24 hours, already scheming to retain his position beyond 2027. In his permutations, with the likelihood of President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shettima’s return to the Presidency in 2027, and with both politicians coming from the South west and North East respectively, the Senate President may remain in the South South or could be zoned to the South East if the region votes massively for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
One powerful politician that is interested in the Senate Presidency is the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma. Uzodimma is a former Senator who represented the people of Orlu Federal Constituency between June 2011 and June 2019 before leaving to run for the office of Governor of Imo State. He, however, became Governor in 2020, after the Supreme Court nullified the election of the then-governor, Emeka Ihedioha, and declared him (who came fourth in the 2019 election) as the validly elected Governor of the state.
He was sworn in for a second term as Governor of Imo State on January 14, 2024, for another four-year term. Going by the spirit and letter of the constitution, his tenure of office would end in January 14, 2028, when he is expected to formally hand over to a new Governor. However, Uzodimma was again elected to represent the good people of Imo West Senatorial District in the 11th senate by APC members in his senatorial zone last week. If elected in next year’s general election, scheduled to hold in January, Uzodimma would be a state Governor and Senator-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the same time.
Even before finishing eating the cake in his mouth as Governor of Imo, Uzodimma is already looking in the direction of the bean cake in the Senate. Nigerian politicians are indeed a special breed! How he is going to dribble the people of Imo state and the Nigerian Constitution in June next year when the 11th National Assembly is scheduled for inauguration is yet to be seen. He would have no option than to resign as Governor of Imo State seven months before the end of his tenure.
In this part of the world, we are okay with building strong individuals and not strong institutions. Uzodimma, since coming to national prominence, has portrayed himself as a politician with wide connections and contacts. Beyond his position in the APC hierarchy as Chairman of their Governors’ Forum, Uzodimma understands how the game of power is played in the Senate, where, as of today, he has spent more time than Akpabio. Again, Uzodimma is a politician you ignore to your own peril.
A strong politician notwithstanding, Uzodimma cannot simultaneously serve as both a State Governor and a Federal Senator. Section 183 of the 1999 constitution restricts a sitting Governor from holding any other executive or salaried office. Should he win the Senate election, he would have to resign his governorship before being sworn into the National Assembly in June next year. His Deputy would then be sworn in to complete the remainder of his governorship tenure. Once he is elected to the Senate, it is certain that Uzodimma would run for the Senate Presidency seat.
But the new Senate rule stands as a stumbling block to Uzodimma’s path to the Senate Presidency. It is probably in his interest and important to note that the Senate Standing Rules can be amended at any time. Indeed, the same standing rule was set aside for Akpabio to emerge as Minority Leader on July 28th, 2015, becoming a Principal Officer in the 8th Senate. Having left office as Akwa Ibom State Governor just a few weeks before, Akpabio had been nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the position. But Kabir Marafa, then an APC Senator from Zamfara State, challenged the decision on the grounds that Akpabio was not qualified to be a Principal Officer in the Chamber as a first-time Senator, especially when the PDP had many returning (ranking) Senators who could fill the position.
Although Marafa cited the requisite provisions of the Senate Standing Rules to back his claim, he was immediately countered by then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who insisted that it was an internal affair of the PDP and none of his (Marafa’s) business as an APC member. “If the ranking Senators cannot take the position for any reason, then the next level of ranking Senators can be considered,” Ekweremadu argued, while explaining that Akpabio was the only candidate the PDP would nominate for the office. To end the debate, then Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki told Marafa that since the PDP Senators were not complaining, he (Marafa) should “stop crying more than the bereaved.”
While both Akpabio and Uzodimma continue with their scheming ahead of the inauguration of the 11th National Assembly, they seem to have forgotten that they don’t have the power to determine what will happen in the next 24 hours. It is only God that has such power. Their cold political permutations have also brought out the old rivalry between politicians from the South South and their brothers in the South East.
The APC may be more at home in zoning the Senate Presidency to the South East in 2027, even if it is just to placate the region. Already, South South politicians are angry that Uzodimma is even planning to contest for the Senate Presidency against Akpabio, describing such a move as a great betrayal. They referenced the fact that during the Fourth Republic, when the Senate Presidency was zoned to the South East, South South Senators refrained from contesting, thereby showing good faith to their fellow South East brothers. By so doing, the South South politicians are claiming that they have shown restraint and loyalty, ceding opportunities in the spirit of unity.
They are now of the view that if Uzodimma or any other politician from the South East comes out in the 11th Senate to contest the Senate Presidency seat with Akpabio, it would be seen as proof that the region learned nothing from history and remains willing to sacrifice its closest ally for short-term gain.
It is quite sad that the ambition of two politicians is now generating tension amongst their people. At present, nobody is talking about the capacity of these politicians to do right for the people of Nigeria. Akapbio is spending his 7th year in the Upper Chamber. Nigerians would like to know what he has done in improving their lot. Uzodimma spent eight years in the Senate. He should as well list his contributions to the growth and development of the people of Nigeria for the records.
They should both come out to canvass for support by telling Nigerians the legislations they put in place that tackled unemployment, job creation, youth engagement, and the development of youths, women, children, the vulnerable, and the elderly. Making laws for their own selfish interest shows how low we have sunk as a nation.
See you next week.
- Akintunde is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Glittersonline newspaper. His syndicated column, Monday Discourse, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday.