Recruiting Our Lawmakers -By Pius Mordi

In the run up to the midterm election that is turning out to be one of the most pivotal in US elections, the immense examination of the records and promises of congressmen has given greater impetus to the congress as a co-equal of the executive branch. For Republicans who felt the safety of their political career depended solely on kowtowing to the whims and demands of Donald Trump, reality has dawned on them that when the stakes are high, especially now when affordability has topped the log in what matters to Americans, some of them have had to break ranks with Trump on critical issues.

One of the most impressive campaigners who has turned out to be real thorn in the flesh for Trump and has pulled no punches in running down the president is Jon Ossoff. At 38 years, he is one of the youngest senators and is bidding to retain his seat in Georgia. His approach to unmasking Trump is something Americans had not seen since the Republican president’s first term and nothing any Republican lawmaker could have dreamt of. Ossoff calls Trump demented, senile, racist, criminal, rapist and just about every adjective to demystify and demean the president. There was no backlash from Georgians, rather they applauded him in a sustained manner that demonstrated he spoke their mind.

As the equally pivotal Nigeria’s general elections in 2027 loom large, all attention is focused on the presidential election. It is as if only the president matters in the running of the country. Of course, as head of the executive branch, the president holds most of the aces. But even in our democratic structure where the president holds enormous powers, the legislature can still stand firm and hold its ground.

Even if Chief Olusegun Obasanjo still pretends that he never wanted to, it was the disciplined and steadfast stand of the Senate under Ken Nnamani as president that scuttled his bid to amend the constitution to pave way for a third term of his presidency.

Given the peculiar dynamics of party primaries where aspirants are often anointed well before hand, especially in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the flag bearers that emerged have taken it for granted that their election is already guaranteed. That is a mentality that should shift to examination of those gunning for election into the parliament. Even when they campaign, the focus is on the executive branch and why the president should be elected.

That mentality illustrates the sordid pronouncements at Senate plenary on Thursday, October 15. Senate Chief Whip Tahoe Monguno moved a motion that Godswill Akpabio and other principal officers of the 11th National Assembly should retain their positions in the next session of the National Assembly.
President Godswill Akpabio who presided put the motion to voice vote and in the absence of a counter motion nebulously hit the gavel declaring that he will remain the nation’s number three citizen when the election which is nearly three months away holds while the 12th assembly can only convene after May 29, 2026 – more than seven months away!

It is another strategy to muscle the upper legislative chamber into maintaining the status quo after the bid to manipulate senate rules to reserve the senate presidency for himself spectacularly failed less than 48 hours after the rules were dubiously amended.

In moving the motion for Akpabio to remain senate president, Mongonu did not anchor his idea on the qualities or achievements of Akpabio and other members of the senate leadership. He argued that President Bola Tinubu and his vice, Kashim Shettima, have already secured the tickets for the presidency, an office decided by the entire electorate, it is compulsory that the entire senate leadership should also return after May 2027 inauguration of a new administration.

In orchestrating a motion to indicate that he wants to remain the presiding officer of the Senate, it is not clear who Akpabio was addressing. Aso Rock? Fellow senators who may be nursing the ambition to succeed him or Nigerians? Unlike the presidency in Aso Rock, Nigerians have no say in deciding who emerges senate president. It is essentially an internal affair among members elected by their constituencies. The motion was, in my view, a show of unadulterated fright and inability to contain himself.

In attendance at the plenary was Adams Oshiomhole who has not dispelled the expectation that he will throw his hat into the contest. If Ifeanyi Okowa and Hope Uzodimma win their bid to return to the senate, Akpabio will no longer hold the aces. Under current rules, both men are qualified to run for president of the chamber.

If the emergence of senatorial flag bearers was a competitive exercise, Akpabio’s constituents may have opted to have someone else. He displayed an embarrassing level of disconnect with the society when he disdainfully proclaimed that those who fail to succeed in their attempt to commit suicide, should brace up for jail. It was not a case of lacking empathy for Nigerians who face monumental challenges, Akpabio sees only his world of opulence just like Marie Antoinette, the queen of France during the French revolution who told Parisians protesting the high price of bread to go buy cake.

When eventually senators convene after May 29 to elect a new president and other principal officers, Akpabio will not be presiding over the chamber while the election is conducted. For an election that is the exclusive of the senators, I am not sure how prudent it is for Akpabio to assume the support of Aso Rock is guaranteed . Winter may still be in the horizon for him.
Akpabio represents the archetype illustration of a defective recruitment process of lawmakers.