Politics

Lobby For Juicy C’ittee Intensifies In Senate

Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2023

Senate

Ahead of the composition of special and standing committees in the 10th Senate, intense lobby for the juicy ones has commenced among senators.

This is even as the minority caucus has resolved to fight for chairmanship of the juicy committees as a bloc.

The fight for who chairs the 63 standing committees has become tensed, with the issue of ranking, party affiliation, loyalists, former governors and close associates shaping the composition.

Though the fight for who chairs the nine special committees and 63 others has been outside the Assembly but with the resumption of senators from recess, intense politicking lobbying, intrigues and nocturnal meetings have reached a cresecndo.

It will be recalled that Senator Godswill Akpabio emerged president of the Senate on Tuesday, June 13, having scored 63 votes to defeat the former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdulaziz Yari (APC, Zanfara West), who polled 46 votes.

The lobby is more intensed for chairmanship of such committees as Appropriations, Services, Downstream Petroleum Sector, Upstream Petroleum Sector, Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions.

Others include Army, Defence, Finance, Navy, Niger Delta Affairs, Customs, Excise and Tariff, Gas, Works, Foreign Affairs, Health, and Power.

Also, all the parties in the opposition have resolved to act as a bloc with regard to securing the chairmanship of juicy committees.

According to the opposition political parties, the decision to act as a bloc was taken to forward their demands to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who chairs the selection committee to enable him see and address the matter as a collective and very serious one, rather than individual negotiation that may not yield results.

Vanguard gathered that this assignment was given to the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Simon Nwadkwon (PDP, Plateau North), and other minority leaders to handle during the Thursday, July 6 meeting.

A source told Vanguard that at the meeting held in Room 221 of the new Senate wing, a ranking senator from the North-East geo-political zone of the country told his colleagues that if results must be achieved with regard to getting chairmanship positions into Grade A committees, the minority caucus must go with list of committees as a bloc, instead of individuals going to lobby for them.

According to the source, the suggestion was agreed on unanimously by the senators as the minority caucus was immediately mandated to carry out the assignment with other minority leadership, who are also members of the selection committee.

The source said: “At the meeting of the minority caucus, a ranking senator and one who has been around, advised us that we should make a bloc demand for chairmanship of committees, instead of going about lobbying as individuals, which may not achieve anything and it was accepted by all of us and the minority leader and his team were then mandated to carry it out.”

At the moment, ruling APC has 59 senators; the PDP 36; Labour Party, LP, eight; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, two; Social Democratic Party, SDP, two; All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and the Young Progressives Party, YPP, one each.
VANGUARD

Politics

APC Explains Suspension Of Senator Gbenga Daniel

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

APC Ward 4 in Sagamu says it suspended Senator Gbenga Daniel because he refused to appear and defend himself over allegations of anti-party activities.

Speaking to journalists at the ward office in Sabo, Sagamu, the Ward Secretary, Hon. Oluwole Aduroja, said he spoke for the 19-member executive committee.

He explained that their clarification was necessary after a statement issued by MJS Partners on behalf of Senator Daniel, reacting to a November 17 letter from the APC National Secretariat.

Aduroja, who stood with the Ward Chairman, Hon. Adebayo Ismail, said the Ward Executive Committee agreed to suspend Senator Daniel because he failed to appear before a panel set up to review petitions against him.

The petitions accused him of working against the party.

He said the problem started during the last general elections, when Senator Daniel “acted in open defiance of the party and engaged in actions inimical to the interest of the APC and its candidates in Ogun State.”

Aduroja added that after the elections, the senator, “attempted to obstruct and frustrate the course of justice during the Election Petition Tribunal sittings through actions and interventions that were directly hostile to the interest of the APC and its candidates.”

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He said these actions remain unchallenged.

Reacting to the position of the APC National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Bashiru, in the November 17 letter, Aduroja insisted that the APC Constitution allows Executive Committees at all levelsward, local government, state, zonal or national to discipline any member.

He said Article 21(5)(vii) gives the National Working Committee the power to suspend members, but does not override the powers of Executive Committees at other levels, and does not require them to seek approval from the NWC.

He explained that “any disciplinary action taken by an Executive Council, including suspension, is subject only to appeal as outlined in Article 21(4).”

He added that nothing in the constitution makes their decision dependent on NWC review.

Aduroja said Ward 4 is committed to discipline, fairness and due process, and stressed that the suspension of Senator Gbenga Daniel remains in full effect.”

Politics

Irresponsible Of You To Blame Trump Over Rising Insecurity – ADC Blasts Tinubu’s Govt

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has criticised the Federal Government of Nigeria for blaming the wave of attacks, especially in Kebbi and Kwara States on remarks by US President Donald Trump.

Recall that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume on Wednesday, said recent statements by Trump concerning the security situation in Nigeria have emboldened violent groups across the country.

Responding to the SGF, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement said Akume’s comment was an attempt to deflect responsibility.

According to him, it is appalling that the APC-led government suggested that insecurity in Nigeria was triggered by a statement made by a foreign president.

The ADC mouthpiece further stated that the claim amounted to a shameful abdication of responsibility and a confirmation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is overwhelmed by the security crisis.

He added that Nigerians had endured massacres, mass abductions and attacks on schools and places of worship for years under the APC-led government.

Abdullahi said the situation has worsened under the current administration because of the government’s failure to respond decisively.

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“It is therefore disingenuous to blame one tweet for the state of insecurity in Nigeria,”

“Those killing Nigerians did not need to be instigated by Trump; they were already actively encouraged by a government that consistently fails to act decisively to stop the carnage, a government that is, even after nearly three years in office, still celebrating its electoral victory while the country is turned into a killing field,” he said.

Politics

Top NNPP Mobiliser In Kano Resigns, Cites Neglect, Lack Of Recognition

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

A key member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Bichi Local Government Area, Hon. Jamilu Kabir Bichi, has resigned from the party, saying he has been consistently sidelined despite his contributions.

Kabir, who was the NNPP Director-General of the 2023 Campaign in Bichi, announced his resignation in a letter dated November 19, 2025, and addressed to the party’s ward chairman.

He described his decision as “painful yet necessary,” explaining that he and his supporters had faced neglect in the party, especially in his home community.

He said the leadership had failed to acknowledge the sacrifice and effort of loyal members.

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“The leadership’s refusal at all levels to recognize our progressive agenda, loyalty, patience, and endurance has been deeply disheartening,” he wrote.

Kabir also said many committed members who worked hard to build the NNPP were denied chances to serve in the party or in government after the party won elections.

According to him, this made it impossible to remain in the party.

“As a principled individual with a political vision and mission… I can no longer, in good conscience, remain in a party that compromises my values,” he stated.

He thanked his political mentor, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Hon. Ahmad Garba Bichi, praising his patience, loyalty, and straightforwardness.

Kabir added that he would continue to practice “politics without bitterness.”

He ended his letter with a prayer, asking Allah to guide the people of Bichi, Kano, and Nigeria, and pledged to stay committed to serving humanity.