Committee chairmanship: Lawan loyalists, ranking senators mount pressure on senate leadership

Some senators who worked for the emergence of Senator Ahmad
Lawan as President of the Senate are already mounting pressures on
the red chamber’s leadership to announce the composition of the
standing committees before their annual recess starting this
week.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that most Lawan’s
loyalists wanted the selection committee, comprising principal
officers, to announce the panels before Thursday this week.

It was gathered that some of them promised one ‘juicy’ committee
or the other, had started suspecting that the leadership might
consider merit as against rewarding loyalists.

One of the ranking senators who was part of Lawan’s campaign
team, told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that they
were no longer comfortable with the delay in announcing the
committees composition.

He said, “We want the Senate President to announce the
committees’ composition latest by Thursday so that we can use the
period of the recess to organise ourselves.

“Apart from that, the leadership of the various committees would
be able to treat any petition against the choice of any ministerial
nominee.”

Further investigations by our correspondent revealed that
ranking members of both the All Progressives Congress and the
Peoples Democratic Party were also said to be lobbying the
presiding and principal officers to make them head plum panels.

Another ranking senator, who is a member of the PDP, told our
correspondent that there was an intense pressure by his colleagues
to head juicy committees.

He said, “I am sure that the selection committee will do the
right thing but it is better for them to announce the composition
before embarking on recess.

“The essence of announcing the committees is to prevent
unethical lobbying that could involve exchange of money during the
recess.”

However, the hopes of those expecting the announcement of the
panels’ composition might have been dashed by the leadership as the
list may not be unveiled until September.

The Chairman, Senate Ad hoc Committee on Media and Public
Affairs, Senator Adedayo Adeyeye, told our correspondent on Friday
that the Senate, like the House of Representatives, would announce
the committees’ membership after the two-month recess.

Adeyeye said the selection committee would use the period of the
recess to carry out a painstaking and meticulous work on the
list.

He said, “The position of the Senate is the same thing with that
of the House of Representatives because the recess will give the
leadership the opportunity to really have a painstaking look at the
whole issue of committees.”

“They will look at the background of all the senators and their
desire to serve in particular places.

“The leadership will therefore decide on where it thinks
individual members can best perform.

“So, that period that they are not busy with plenary work will
give them an opportunity to really face the issue of
committees.

“There is really no need to rush things now because the
committees can’t do anything during the recess.”

Meanwhile, a former minority leader of the Senate, Senator
Godswill Akpabio, has asked the Deputy President of the Senate,
Ovie Omo-Agege, to ensure that the appointment of committee
chairmen in the Senate is evenly spread among all geopolitical
zones in the country.

Akpabio stated this in Abuja on Saturday at a reception in
honour of Omo-Agege organised by the Youth Progressive Initiative
in the North.

He said, “Put your eyes on the appointments; don’t allow the
appointment of committee chairmen to be one-sided.

“I want you to work towards ensuring that everyone is carried
along; committee chairmanship should not go to only one section of
the country.”