Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who represents Nasarawa West senatorial district in the National Assembly, is a fearless politician, who is always ready to tackle people and issues without fear or apology. But his courageous tendency was tested last week when the Northern Senators’ Forum removed him as its chairman, WALE ELEGBEDE reports
When you profile notable politicians from the northern part of the country using their experience as the basis of classification, the name Abdullahi Adamu will not be missing from the list. From the executive to legislative arms of government, he has had a pie of both at one point in time. He also had different stints with party politics at a time. In 1977, he was a member of the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the constitution for the country’s Second Republic.
As a pioneer member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Adamu became the first Secretary-General of the NPN in the then Plateau State and later became the chairman of the party in the state. In 1994, he was appointed to the National Constitutional Conference by General Sani Abacha’s administration. In March 1995, Adamu was appointed a minister of state of the Works and Housing ministry, holding this position until November 1997.
When the ban on political activity was lifted in 1997, he joined the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). In 1998, Adamu became a founding member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
At the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, he ran successfully for the position of governor of Nasarawa State on the platform of the PDP. He was reelected in April 2003.
After the end of his two-term governorship, Adamu became Secretary, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP. In 2011, he contested and won the 2011 elections for the Nasarawa West senato-rial district. He was however re-elected in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
With such intimidating political profile, Senator Adamu, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, is a no pushover when it comes to the power game.
But, recent developments in the Senate, which pitted the former governor against his colleagues, seem to have proven those who believe that politics is a game of the possible, right. It all started with the amendment to Electoral Act, which reordered the sequence of elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in January released the timetable for the 2019 general elections.
According to the schedule announced by the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, political parties would have a time frame spanning August 17, 2018 and February 28, 2019 for electioneering activities.
The process, according to schedule would be kick-started by publication of notice of election for national and state elections would be on August 17, 2018, while that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections would be done on September 3, 2018. Collection of nomination forms by political parties for national and state elections will commence from August 11 to 24.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections would be between November 3 and 10, 2018. Party primaries for the presidential, governorship, federal and state legislative elections will commence on August 18 and end on October7 2018, while that of the FCT Area Council elections will commence on September 4 and end on October 27 2018. The timetable further had it that campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on November 18; December 1 for governorship and state Assembly elections and December 2, for the FCT elections.
The last day for submission of nomination forms to INEC is December 3, 2018 for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while that of the governorship and state Assembly is December 17. For the FCT area council elections, the deadline is December 14, 2018. Campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections are expected to end on February 14, 2019, while campaigns for the governorship, state Assembly and FCT Area Council polls will end on February 28, 2019.
Consequently, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 16, 2019, while governorship and state Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Expectedly, missed feelings trailed the electoral commission’s release of the elections timetable, but the Senate’s reordering of the sequence of elections, triggered an attrition war between senators believed to be pro-President Muhammadu Buhari and those perceived as opposition to the President’s second term bid, especially within the ruling APC.
While Buhari’s foot soldiers in the Senate claimed that the decision of the two chambers of the National Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives – to reorder the sequence of elections in the Electoral Act was aimed at frustrating the President’s second term bid, those perceived as hostile to him were of the view that INEC was out to implement an agenda to stop them from returning to the hallowed chambers in 2019.
The report of the Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives approved the reordering of the sequence of elections, thereby invalidating the 2019 elections timetable released by INEC, but the pro-Buhari senators, led by Senator Adamu, had insisted that the rule of the apex Chamber, which provides for conference reports to be subjected to debate on the floor to enable senators who are not members of the committee to make contributions, especially in the areas that were not part of the Senate version, but the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, put motion for adoption of the report straight for voice votes.
Tension further heightened when it appeared during the voice vote that those who shouted nay were louder than those who shouted ayes, and yet Saraki in his ruling, said the ayes carried the day.
It was against this backdrop that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) raised a point of order to call for division, but was overruled by Saraki. Omo-Agege, in his point of order, argued that the committee had no power to reorder the sequence of elections, stating that it was an attempt to usurp the constitutional powers of INEC and declaring the action unconstitutional, null and void and should be revered by the National Assembly.
He alleged that it was only 36 out of the 360 members of the House of Representatives were present in the Green Chamber the day the amendment to the Electoral Act was carried out there, while the Senate did not form a quorum on the day it was passed in the Red Chamber.
Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South) rose through another point of order to argue that it was against the Senate rules for a conference committee report to be adopted without being debated at the committee of the whole.
His argument was however knocked off by Saraki, who referred him to rule 53(6) of the Senate standing orders, which prevents the apex legislative chamber from revisiting any matter that had been ruled upon.
Obviously not satisfied with the explanation, Senator Adamu raised another point of order, under which he argued that the sequence of elections included in the Act was illegal. According to him, section 76 of the 1999 Constitution vests the power to organise, conduct and fix dates for elections in INEC, which in spirit, also includes order of elections as earlier announced by the electoral body. But rather than provide solution to the disagreement, the argument offended Saraki, who declared that section 25(1) of the Electoral Act, which deals with sequence of elections, has nothing to do with organising, conducting and fixing dates for elections.
The pro Buhari senators, who felt humiliated by Saraki’s ruling stormed out of the chamber to the Senate’s press centre, where they briefed journalists, expressing their grievances and total opposition to the action of the President of the Senate in midwifing the adoption of the report in a manner they said lacked due process.
The senators led by Adamu include Abdullahi Yahaya (APC, Kebbi North), Ibrahim Kurfi (APC, Katsina Central), Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina South), Abdullahi Gumel (APC, Jigawa North), Binta Masi Garba (APC, Adamawa North), Ali Wakili (APC, Bauchi South), Andrew Uchendu (APC, River East) and Benjamin Uwajumogu (APC, Imo North). Adamu, who spoke on behalf of the group, said that they already had 59 signatures of senators against the insertion section 25(1) into the Electoral Act.
His words: “Though we are 10 here now, we can assure you that as at this morning, not less than 59 senators have expressed their opposition to the illegal sequence of elections included in the Act. Perhaps that was the reason why the Senate president refused to follow the due process when report on the Act was to be adopted in the Senate.
“Section 25(1) of the Act reordering the sequence of elections from the one earlier released by INEC last year is a law targeted at an individual which to us is totally in bad faith and will not be allowed to stand.
” But, the Senate’s spokesman, Aliyu Sabi, and Chairman, Senate committee on INEC, Suleiman Nazif, in a counter press briefing, said the amendment was not targeted at anybody, but carried out in national interest.
According to them, aside the contentious section 25(1) of the amended Act, six other core areas of electoral processes were worked upon with the aim of deepening democratic process in the country. Sabi, who pointed out that was done was “in the best interest of Nigerians and not for any selfish agenda,” added that the Senate will decide on the next step should President Buhari decide to veto the bill. Expectedly, the Senate last week, moved against Adamu and his group and the first casualty was the former Nasarawa governor.
He was removed as the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum (NSF). A letter, which announced his removal, was read by Deputy President of the Senate (Ekweremadu), who presided over the session.
The letter was signed by the forum’s Public Relations Officer, Senator Dino Melaye. The letter read in part: “This is to inform the Senate that majority of members of the Northern Senators Forum have removed Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum for financial mismanagement and maladministration. We announce his replacement with Senator Aliyu Wamakko immediately. Find the attached names and signatories of members.”
Omo-Agege was lucky as he was quick to apologise to his colleagues over his comment that reordering the poll schedule was targeted at President Buhari. The Senate had earlier resolved to query him for linking an action by the Senate as targeting Buhari, while the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions was mandated to carrying out the task.
While Adamu may have suffered a setback, his group has not given up as his sack has divided members of the NSF. Senator Ali Wakili (APC Bauchi), who opposed his removal, told his colleagues that there was no meeting where members reached the decision to remove the former governor of Nasarawa State as their leader.
His words: “My constituency and other leaders of the North are disgusted, asking why we are trying to destroy our leadership.” Adamu, on his part, denied allegation the he mismanaged funds belonging to the group, which those who removed him hinged their action on.
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