Why David Mark May Reemerge As The Next Senate President.

David Mark 

The Senate President, David Mark despite being in minority in the composition of the next upper legislative chamber, may yet reemerge the President of the Senate as the operational Nigeria’s 1999 constitution does not stipulate the occupant of the coveted office necessarily comes from the ruling party.

David Mark, who got reelected for the 5th time consecutively, but this time as a minority as the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC clinched a total of 65 seats against the Peoples Democratic Party’s 44 seats, is reportedly lobbying seriously to keep his seat even as the President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is poised to be sworn-in come May 29th.

Until the incumbent Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal decamped from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, many Nigerians do not know that an opposition party could constitutionally occupy the seat of House of Representatives’ Speaker without infringing the law.

According to 1999 CONSTITUTION, CHAPTER 5, PART 1, ARTICLE 1 (A)

“(1) There shall be:-

(a) a President and a Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves; and

(b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.”

WHY DAVID MARK MAY REEMERGE:

Obviously, come May 29th, the All Progressives Congress will become the ruling party in Nigeria. From all indications, the South East Geo-Political Zone may have lost the opportunity to produce the next Senate President of Nigeria.

The Zone did not vote for any candidate of the APC in the last election, thereby shutting out itself in the reckoning for such a post.

From the results posted by the INEC, the South East neither returned any of its APC senators nor voted for any new candidate to emerge on the platform of the APC.

It was learnt that the non-availability of any ranking APC Senator from the region to take the slot of Senate President might compel APC to zone the slot to the North Central, where David Mark hails from.

Mark would have emerged the best choice given his rich background and experience, his membership of the PDP, which will now be in the minority in the next Senate, knocks him out of the reckoning for the post.

APC has won no fewer than 65 seats in the last NASS election pushing PDP with 44 Senators to the second position in the upper legislative chambers.

The party with the majority number of senators will produce the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President. But it must also be emphasised that this is not anywhere in the rules guiding the composition or election of the Senate leadership.

An APC chieftain has said that it was not possible to concede the Senate Presidency to Benue State after it had occupied the post for eight years through David Mark.

The official said that there was no way APC would accept Mark as its Senate President since there were many qualified Senators from other states in the North Central to occupy the post.

In the build-up to the inauguration of the 8th Senate in June, about seven senators from the APC are said to be in the race for the presiding officers. The senators, who are returning, and ranking Senators are Abubakar Saraki from Kwara Central, who was among the senators who defected from the PDP to the APC; the Senate Minority Leader, George Akum, from Benue North-West and Mohammed Danjuma Goje, Gombe Central. Interestingly all the three are former governors.

Also said to be in the race is a former National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Barnabas Gemade, from Benue North-East who dumped the PDP for APC after allegedly being denied the return ticket by his state governor, Gabriel Suswan, but defeated the governor in the election; Senator Ahmad Lawan, from Yobe North, and Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, from Borno South.

There is the argument that the position of the Senate President may likely go to North-East where Goje, Lawan and Ndume come from; North Central, which holds the position presently and where Saraki, Akume and Gemade hail from or even the South-West. However, it is going to be the decision of the leadership of the political parties in contention according to their zoning arrangement that will determine where to zone the position.

Mathematically and constitutionally, if David Mark could gain the loyalty and supports of all the 44 Peoples Democratic Party Senators, and peradventure the All progressives Congress, APC Senators jostling to unseat him were unable to resolve and present a candidate for the party, Mark could win the Senate Presidency again.

Already, there is a sharp division among the APC senators; former Governor, Sen. Bukola Saraki whom most have been tipping to occupy the coveted post has been criticized as not being core North. Some core northerners were said to be opposed to him, stating that he is of more Yoruba stock.

If these sharp divisions among the APC remain unresolved, and they fail to present a common candidate for the Senate Presidency during the election at the Senate floor, David mark may win again if he enjoys the full supports and loyalty of all the 44 PDP senators.