9th Assembly: APC setting another quagmire for itself ― Senator Hunkuyi

Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna North in the Red chamber said on Friday that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) appears to be setting itself up for another quagmire the way they are making adoptions for the leadership of the 9th Assembly.

Senator Hunkuyi, who was elected originally as an APC Senator in 2015 before defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that the endorsement of a sole candidate for the post of Senate president could be the beginning of the crisis in the APC.

He told journalists in his office on Friday in Abuja that endorsing or anointing candidate by the leadership of any party for any of the four presiding officers’ positions in the National Assembly is not only undemocratic but blatantly unconstitutional going by provisions of section 50 ( 1a and b ) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

He quoted the Section of the Constitution saying:  ” There shall be a President and Deputy President of the Senate who shall be elected by the members of that House  from among themselves; and (b) a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.”

He further said: “Clearly by the two provisions ,  only the 109 senators-elect and 360 Hon Members of the House of Representatives – elect , are empowered to   decide who their leaders as regards the positions of President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy Speaker, should be at any given time, particularly at the commencement of a new Assembly .

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“Therefore,  for any other person or group of persons outside the 469 constitutionally empowered persons to by way of pontification, anointment, selection, appointment or endorsement, saying Senator A or B , is the one for this or that position is not only wrong but making clear affront on democracy itself.

“Must Senators be dictated to and or Senators and members of  House of Representatives cabinet members of the presidency that must be railroaded or tele guided on issues that are strictly theirs?

“Democracy is not a crazy culture but culture of respects for peoples rights, views and constitutionally spelt out responsibilities.

“The culture of anointment or imposition the APC in collaboration with the presidency wants to infuse into it must be rejected and I know it will be rejected by the elected federal lawmakers.

“Though I don’t have the right of participation at the coming 9th  Senate particularly in the election process at inauguration,  but I have a say through interaction with many of the Senators-elect, already giving me the feelers that as elected senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, their independent-mindedness will come to play on the day of inauguration .

“If APC as a party  just zones the positions without the endorsement of anybody, it would have been better but insisting that a particular person must emerge for a particular position is turning the principles of democracy and separation of powers upside down with attendant backfiring effects.”