 Will APC survive the discontent over the 10th National Assembly leadership? Well, tonight we will be discussing plans by aggrieved lawmakers to battle Tajidin Abbas, the candidate endorsed by the President-elect Bola Tiniwi. And the tribunal to consider PDT and Labour Party requests as 8,000 Nigerians sign a petition demanding live broadcast of presidential election tributes. This is post-Politik of the Dianmarie Anna Post. A wave of discontent, acrimony, protest and anxiety has enveloped the ruling or progressive Congress APC, sequel to its zoning of the 10th National Assembly positions ahead of the inauguration build for June this year. The party's zoning formula has sparked outrage and discordant tunes among its members and left the polity twitching. It has equally led to intensified scramble by top contenders who believe that there should be a review of the zoning arrangement. The National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamou, has admitted that there was no adequate consultation before this decision on the zoning was reached. And he also assured that the party would go back to the drawing board and review its decision where necessary. Now, some party leaders and aspirants have argued that the most worrisome part of it is that the National Working Committee did not just zone offices to various geopolitical regions, but specifically zeroed on preferred aspirants in those zones. Well, joining us to discuss this and more is Honourable Bimba Dharamala. He's a legal and also joining us is a legal practitioner and journalist Ola Lekon Ighe. It's so good to have you join us, Ola Lekon. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you, Miran, for having me. Great, great. We'll go back to last week when the APC issued a statement on their preferred candidate or who they had, in quotes, anointed in the midst of all of the struggle or scramble for who would at the end of the day become Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the higher and lower chamber. Many people have obviously queried the decision and the premise for which they took this decision, especially where they had to mention the name of the president-elect. Is this the first time this is happening ever in the life of Nigeria's democracy? Well, it's not the first time and there is nothing wrong with it. The party is a platform upon which all the political, all the senators-elect have won elections to go to the upper chamber of the national assembly. So there is absolutely nothing wrong. If the party comes up and says, look, this is the direction we're looking at and this is the candidate, we're going to narrow down to I don't think there's anything wrong with that. That is party politics. That's why they say the party is supreme. You belong to a party. The party has taken its decision. Naturally, the decision of the party won't go down well with everybody. That's normal. There will always be different tendencies within a political party, but the party has taken a position. And I'm sure you know that the party will be walking around the clock to ensure that they get all members of that party to support their position. It's not the first time a party has taken a position as to who they will prefer to lead the Senate, especially when they have a majority of the senators-elect in the national assembly. It's interesting when people say in position of candidates, they're saying that this is more like an imposition as opposed to allowing for fair hearing because most people would look at this as an opportunity for members of the National Assembly to pick their leader, even though the majority obviously will still be from the APC. So why is that not being allowed to happen as opposed to peaking or anointing a preferred candidate? To me, this is no imposition. The party has expressed its choice. The party says this is the candidate we prefer. That is the decision of the party. It has not stopped any other member of that party or any member of the opposition from aspiring to become the president of the Senate. Remember what happened in 2011 when the APC had wanted somebody else to be the president of the Senate? That in 2015, sorry, when they wanted somebody to be the president of the Senate, the party had preferred the Ahmed Lawan. But eventually, Senator Bukalasaraki imagined against the wish of the party and he let the Senate for four years. So to me, it's not imposition. The party has expressed its position and said, look, this is the candidate we prefer. This is the political party. They have a right to meet and to say, look, this is the person we prefer. If at the end of the day, another person imagines the party. Of course, we have no choice but to stand beyond whoever imagines. The party has named a preferred choice. It has not stopped any member of the APC in particular from aspiring to become the president of the Senate. And I hear Senator Ojizo Kali from Abia he said, look, it will go ahead with his aspiration to become the president of the Senate. So it's a party's decision, really. This is not imposition. They've not said, look, would that either a Fabio or nobody else? No. The party has only said, we prefer Fabio. They are not going to stop any member of the party from aspiring to become the president of the Senate. Okay. Joining us also is Honorable Bimbo Daramola who's also obviously been a member of the National Assembly and he's also a legal practitioner. Honorable, let's look at the movements within the House. Of course, many people are also asking the APC chairman to stop aggrieved party members from forming a coalition with the opposition being that these people would rather take these positions with or without the blessings of the party. What are your thoughts? Well, thank you very much for the opportunity and the invite. It's nice to see you more time. Happy New Year. Sometimes it worries me why we keep coming back to the same position every one time that a new assembly is supposed to be or is about to be inaugurated. I think democracy and the practice and the process should have moved past this point. I was in the House in 2015, 2011 to 2015 we went through that and then 2015 to 2019 we went through that. And then we're back onto the same spot at this time and I don't think it is necessary. We should have moved beyond that. But I feel, let me clear one or two things. Number one, the party is supreme. That's number one. But that will mean that the party also has exhausted or exhaustively taking that decisions. I believe very strongly that while the party is right in the exercise of the authority as the basic vehicle that are taking these guys to a future, particularly the National Assembly, I also would think that the party would also see or come across as a father, like a father with sons. And everybody knows that in parenting, even when you prefer a child, you don't make it very obvious. Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. All right, fine. When you prefer a child or when there's a preference for a child out of the children, you are most likely going to do that sub-trainously. You're not going to do that like definitely care. And I think that is what has made these guys a little bit sticky about this show of the party. Originally it started out as zoning. And then all of a sudden it's gone pop. Honourable Dharamola, you're still there. I think that we lost that connection. Let's see if we can pick up with Ola Lekon. Let's come back to some of the people who are from the north who have also thrown their heart into the ring because Honourable Dharamola talked about the fact that the party is supreme. But where is the place of internal democracy? Yes, the party might prefer a certain candidate or certain candidates, but then there is room for fair hearing. Where is that opportunity for fair hearing? Why was this move taken even before they had that meeting where people had to say, well, we all don't support Aqabiu. Ola Lekon, can you hear me? Ola Lekon, can you hear me? Are you there? We will take a very quick break and bring all our guests back together. Stay with us. It's still post-politics and we are still looking at the political dynamics on the floor of the National Assembly building up to the, of course, emergence of who decides to lead or who will be leading the Senate and the House of Representatives. And I'm still being joined by public affairs analyst Ola Lekon Ige and of course, peer expert Honourable Bimbo Dharamola. Now Honourable Dharamola, you were caught shot by the network connection. You were trying to talk about zoning and how it applies to what's happening in the National Assembly right now, quickly. Yeah. I was just trying to clarify one thing that the party is like a father, all right? The most be careful with how the rent in his office is destroyed. Everybody knows that if you have five children, three children, even if you like one of them, you must also discharge that in such a subterranean way. You don't want to make it self-evident. You don't want to throw it in the faces of the other children that, oh, I prefer X to Y. And because we all know the consequences of that in the long run and in the short run. So I would expect that the party, yes, having the authority and being able to exercise preference, but should also be mindful of the fact that every one person that is contesting at this time will come in under the umbrella of the party as a children. Okay. Now, when you begin to say, I prefer Sundae and I would rather Sundae when there are no manifest defects with Joker, then you're beginning to cut through. This is my interpretation. I've been there before. And this is where the beginning of the rebellion starts. That after all, I mean, I've been sure you didn't like me. So if you didn't like me, I've been sure why I must not be loyal to you. But I think the party may walk a different path, learning from Moabhund in 2015, no, 2011, when we were there, and 2015, surely after I left, and then even, I think, 2019 to a large extent, they were just escaped by Whistler as in 2019. So my take on this would be that even if the party prefers somebody, I'm not too sure that having to name that person like zoning into personalities. There are 300, okay, fine. Maybe there's about 178 new members or new and newly elected and returning members. So isolating one person out of seven people who have shown interest to be speaker, I'm making that manifest in the manner which was done, probably got under the skin of these guys and that's why they're beginning to form GDs and GDs. Ultimately, one person would have to sit in that chair and it will give the party a lot of comfort if the nominee of the party gets to sit in that chair but it should not be flaunted in the faces of other contestants. All right, back to you, Olaleko. Let's quickly analyze the personalities that the party has picked. Let's start with the person of former governor of Aqaibom State, Gotswilobut Aqabiu. Now, a lot of people know Aqabiu for different reasons and recently he has also been invited by the EFCC, not once, not twice. He's had several cases hanging over his head. Many would say, well, he's not been dictated on anything whatsoever. But the person of Aqabiu, how well will he fare as a Senate president? Who are you asking me? No, I'm asking Olaleko. Olaleko, can you hear me? I think he's had an executive position before. He was governor of Aqaibom for eight years. Remember, even as a first-timer, he was the, I think, minority leader. But the Senate, just before he lost his re-election B in Aqaibom State. Whether he will not be fitting to serve as the president of the Senate is a different thing. The governor of his state for eight years in Aqaibom, having been in the Senate for four years, you would say that look, he's had some kind of cognate experience and is able to bring this to bear in administering the Senate. The Senate is very important. It's made up of different political parties this time around. I think this is the first time since 1999 we are going to have Senate talks from about four or five different political parties. We are from the YPP. We are from the PDP. We are from the APC. We are from the NNP. And now we have senators, you know, from the Liberal Party. So this would be the, should I say the widest in terms of political parties that will be able to the Senate this time around. So we've got somebody with a reasonable level of experience to be able to put all of this together and work for the common interest of Nigeria. And that, if we win, that's what a public should be able to do. And like what, like what on the Bouddharamala is talking about, the party to put names into their faces who definitely cause rebellion, like I said earlier, is not left for the party, the leadership of the party, the president-elect of the party, all of the party leaders, even the incumbent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be able to put all these different tendencies together, you know, and make sure they have a common front and be able to say, look, we've been able to listen to the party. We've been able to listen to the leaders. There have been bargains here and there. There have been give and take here and there and ensure that everybody all queued behind Senator Akpabi as the party has stated in this manner all, who could have a scenario of 2015 where the party preferred Senator Amen Lawan and eventually Sarah King worked against the interests of the party and was able to cut, you know, the support of opposition parties in the Senate and eventually became the Senate president. So whether Akpabi will be able to lead the Senate or remains to be seen. Honourable Damola, looking at the person of Akpabi and also how strong-willed he is and, you know, just like Olaliko said, he's been able to make some things happen. Do we see him caving to the whims and the caprices of the party because, I mean, hopefully, if they, if he were to emerge, I'm just saying, if he were to emerge, because many have queried this Senate that it's been a Robert Stamp Legislature. Do you remember, vividly, I don't know if you do, where the sitting Senate president had said that whatever bills the president was bringing, he should be rest assured that they would give it a nod. And that's what we've seen play out in the few years that, you know, he's sat as Senate president. But do we see an Akpabi also being a Robert Stamp Senate president? Well, again, I think this is the comfort the party is looking for. You know, when the party insists on wanting XYZ in that position, I think they're looking for some kind of comfort. So nobody gets in the way of that administration. But I would expect that, or let me say I am sure that up until this time, like we had in 2011, the party had continued to become a rule not to equip these people or at least give them refresher costs like we had in 2011 ahead of inauguration, where members are told. Maybe it was because we were in a position there, but it would make a lot of sense. And I think it is expected that the party gets to distill the fine details of our ethos. What we believe, these are position of these. These are position of federalism. These are the position of power. These are all kinds of things the party will naturally take a position. And when those positions have been taken, these are the economy, these are the social infrastructure, those which are the all kinds of things, you can now get to remind everybody that will be sitting in the parliament, sitting in a table or sitting in a chair that will be provided by the party. Now, that has not been done. And that further negates the capacity of these people to discharge that duty of representation very well. And that further corroborates the point that it is not enough to appoint somebody. All of them, if you are ticking the boxes, all of them can be ticked, we can tick the boxes of membership in the presence of the party to have a member of the party in that chair as the leader. But there are other considerations that the party might pull up. Today, if I play the fool to get into that chair, what of my innate attributes? For somebody who decides who practically feels that all I need is to stoop to conquer and we have said into the whole world that Apabio is a very strong character. He is. And he's very mercurial as well. Everybody knows that. You know his relationship when he was with the president of this country, when he was a PDP, a common transformation man and all of that. And the term relationship that existed between him and President Jonathan and all of that. I don't want to go too long or too far into that history, but we all know it. But so, this party more than anything else would be safety guard or safety guard that all the members of the party would be the chair for anybody who decides to go off tangent to what the party wants inside the parliament. Let me also make this clear to you. Let me make this clear to you. No matter what you do, you must also take cognizance of the fact that there are other members who are not of your stock, who are not of your extraction. And in this present house, ten years of representatives not sell it. I can say to you that it would be very or near difficult to make anything happen in that house regardless. Yes, the presiding officers are very powerful, extremely so. But if other guys in the opposition decides to tie themselves together and bond, they could pose a whole lot of challenge to whoever is presiding. If you feel that over to sell it, I am too sure that Senator Apabio is a very jolly person. He blends very well. He converts with people and all of that. So I would expect that he would eventually secure the confidence of others. Because what you need more than anything else is the acceptable leadership. And that is one thing that being a member of a political party does not confirm. Somebody that has been picked from an APC to be that and does the person also have the capacity to lead people in unison. There are other integrated details that must be factored into who leads who presides in the Senate and in the House of Representatives particularly over colleagues. You are just a primus enterprise. You have one vote and most times you don't cast that vote. You understand? There will be 359 members in the House of Representatives who you will have to rule according to the decisions that are made. When the man is sitting in the chair and says those in support of this motion will say he can only do that. He can't vote. Okay. All right. Finally, let me come to you Alaliko because we are almost out of time. Let's talk about Tadjidina Bass of course. He is the chosen or anointed man for the House of Representatives. And of course he just recently paid a visit to the Lagos State Gapno Babajidisonga Luin company of his choice Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Let's quickly assess the personalities of these two and how they might be able I mean judging from Iqbalabia Mila handing over Tadjidina Bass. Alaliko, can you hear me? I can hear you now. I can hear you like Honourable Dharamola said. The House of Representatives is by far bigger than the Senate in terms of membership. There are 360 members of the House of Rep and I'm sure when Abbas does become the Speaker of the House of Representatives has 359 Honourable Dharamola stated it will be easy really to lead the House of Reps is a little bit more difficult than leading the Senators. We have just about a 109 Senators compared to 60 members of the House of Reps. Is that a record of being re-elected into House of Reps? But being a leadership position is completely a different thing. You could say that Jabya Mila successfully led the House of Reps but he had the experience. He was the leader of the House. He's been in the House of Reps for as long as I can remember. So he's got that enormous legislative experience to be able to lead the House of Reps but whether Abbas can do that is a completely different thing. So he needs to gather more than enough support of the members. Then he must also have the managerial acumen to be able to lead the House of Reps. It will be a difficult one really because this House of Reps is also made up of more political parties that were bad since 1999. So it will be more difficult leading these 10 assembly especially when it comes to the lower chamber. Well there's a lot that is left to be seen with our fingers crossed and we're all waiting with bated breath to see what happens just before May 29 if everybody decides that they're going to ban behind this gentleman. But I want to say thank you Honourable Bimbaud Aramola is of course a former member of the National Assembly and of course he's a PR expert. It's a journalist and a public affairs analyst. Thank you so much gentlemen for being part of the conversation. Thank you so much. We'll take a quick break and every return we'll be discussing calls for the live broadcast of the presidential election petitions tribunal and what these people might be deciding come May 19 stay with us.