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By Onuorah C. Ugwu
The 10th National Assembly will be consequential and significant. it is expected to be the Parliament of national rebirth.
It, therefore, requires leadership with extraordinary wisdom and capacity both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.
Opinions suggest that the Senate President, being the third highest office in the country, should be headed by a southern Christian, while the House of Representatives can be headed by a northern Muslim, for equity and fairness.
Those canvassing for southern Christian Senate President believe that such arrangement would help douse the dissensions generated by Muslim-Muslim President and Vice. This will also sync with President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise of running a government of national consensus and national unity.
Permutations are that the South-East and South-South will produce Senate President and Deputy Speaker while the offices of the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives will go to North-Central and North-West.
Invariably, what it means is that if the Senate President is produced by the South-East, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives will automatically go to the South-South and vice-versa.
Similarly, the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are expected to be shared between the North-Central and the North-West. The North-West, having given the All Progressives Congress, (APC) the highest votes of almost two millions in the just concluded presidential election, is, undoubtedly, expected to produce the 10th Assembly Speaker.
The essence of these arrangements is to also give every of the six geopolitical zones a sense of belonging. Already, the South-West and North-East zones have produced President and Vice, respectively.
This will equally be a departure from the 9th Assembly, which ended up with Muslim-Muslim Senate President and Speaker from North-East and South-West in the persons of Ahmed lbrahim Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila. The 9th House Deputy Speaker is equally a Muslim from North Central, Ahmed Idris Wase
Further findings indicate that the National Working Committe (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress favours the idea of making sure that all six zones are equitable represented in the hierarchy of the legislature. The party’s leadership, sources further indicated, is waiting for the President-elect for final rattification of these arrangements.
In zoning the speakership to North-West, it is important to note that the leadership of the House of Representatives is very critical because of its size. It requires a person of enduring capacity, competent, and someone with requisite administrative skills.
The man who fits perfectly into these qualities is Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji. He is a ranking member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji federal constituency of Zamfara State.
He chaired the House of Representatives Committee on National Security, Intelligence and Public Safety in the 8th Assembly (2015-2019). This Zamfara-born legislator distinguished himself both in plenary and at the committee levels. In the 8th Assembly, Jaji sponsored several impactful bills and motions, some of which include the following”
1.) HB. 1179 National Security Agencies Act (Amedndment) Bill 2017
2) HB. 1180 Explosives Act (Amendment) Bill 2017
3) HB. 1181 Critical National Assests and Infrastructure Centre (Establishment, Etc) Bill, 2017
4) HB. 1211 Hate Speech (Prohibition) Bill, 2017 and
5) HB. 1481 Elite Sheriff Office (Estbalishment) Bill 2018.
Motions:
1) Urgent Need for the Federal Government to address the Devastating Gully Erosion in some communities in Kaura-Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency and (2) Need to Address security breakdown, the killing of 36 police officers and incessant killings in Zamfara State, among several other motions.
Rt. Hon. Jaji is an Embodiment Of Humanitarianism.
He is a nobleman with sterling qualities. He is tolerant, humble and accommodating.
Jaji abhors religious extremism and ethnic bigotry. His leadership of the 10th House as the Speaker at this trying time of our nation is most desirable.
The just concluded general election undoubtedly almost tore the country apart. Religious and ethic sentiments played dominant roles in the elections. The ethnic and religious strife that played up demand urgent attenuation, which Jaji is well equipped to handle, in collaboration with the executive arm.
We are definitely in dire need of an effective legislature that will ernestly work with the executive to help in turning the “Renewed Hope” mantra of the incoming President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu into practical effects.
The secret plans of the members-elect of the minority parties to upstage the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives’ leadership is not appropriate at this time.
The idea if it pulls through will not augur well for the country and for a productive working relationship devoid of compromise with the Executive Arm. We need cohesion in the legislature for effectiveness and harmony.
