Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, there are strong indications that President Bola Tinubu may have changed his mind over the choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Mr Tajudeen Abass as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

the President may also pick the next Speaker from the North-West and announce his choice on Thursday It was further gathered that Tinubu had sent emissaries to notable aspirants among the G-6 to placate them.

AHEAD of the inauguration of the National Assembly  June 13, strong Indications emerged yesterday that uneasy calm envelopes the entire process as President Bola Tinubu failed to unveil former Akwa Ibom Governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio and  Tajudeen Abass as the preferred candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC for the positions of the President of the Senate and Speaker, House of Representatives.

The expectations of law makers that  that President Tinubu would ice the cake was even  more misplaced.

The Kano state house of assembly has approved a request by the state givernor, Engr. Abba Kabir yusuf to appoint twenty special advisers. 

Daily trust reports that this is the first sitting of the 10th state house of assembly after swaering in the members on Tuesday. the house later elected Ismail Jibrin Falgore of the NNPP as its speaker.

There seems to be respite in sight in the camp of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) over who emerges as the senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives as President Bola Tinubu got the real picture of how to resolve the lingering crisis last night. 

The source said things are begining to unfold gradually but unfortunately it appears things are getting altered to contain because even the meeting that the president held with the senate president and the speaker was an eye opener for Mr President. 

Speaking further the source said he has flown another flier to test the waters so that the President will be boxed into another corner.

Apparently irked by this development, the source said lawan reportedly: said it is either APC loses the speakership to the opposition PDP if two APC aspirants run for speakership or the North corners both the speakership and senate presidency. So all indication point to the fact that the issue of the leadership scout for 10th assembly was largely mismanaged.

Five days to the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, the APC leadership had also endorsed the member-elect representing Kaduna, as speakership candidate, while the member-elect from Abia State, clinched the Deputy Speaker slot. Not officially declared its consensus candidate to run against Abbas. While Abbas is from Kaduna State in the North-West, Member-elect for the Ningi/Warji Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, but he simply called for a united front. Both Senate and the House of Representatives, he emphasised that he will perform an open-door policy for everybody. Told The PUNCH that Tinubu appealed to lawmakers to uphold national interest. He didn’t mention anybody’s name to be voted for. Maybe he is appealing, What he told them there and then was that the zoning stands. What he was trying to tell them, based on our interpretation, where no leadership position was zoned to, the source admitted that “it does not favour him. The source stated, ” adding that, as part of his continued lobbying for votes..

Former two-time Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has joined the recently launched social media network known as “Threads.” New Telegraph reports that Thread which is owned by Mark Zuckerberg was launched on Thursday and the immediate former Chief Whip of the Senate has joined with his verified personal handle “oukgram”.

Following the development, Kalu become the first among the members of the 10th National Assembly to join the newly launched social media application. Making his presence known on the platform, the Forbes-rated billionaire entrepreneur cum politician wrote” Humbly signing in here as the first Among the 10th NASS to “Thread”… More room for legislative engagements … #OUK #OrjiUzorKalu”.

Former Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate and senator-elect for Bauchi Central, Abdul Ahmed Ningi, on Wednesday, said there are at least 67 of his colleagues who have keyed into the aspiration of Orji Uzor Kalu and Abdulaziz Yari to emerge as Presiding Officers of the Senate. He said majority of the contenders for the Senate Presidency are working together and that discussions were ongoing among them. 

This is coming, even as a parliamentary watchdog, the Coalition for Parliamentary Democracy (CPD), warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against its insistence on micro zoning the Senate Presidency to Godswill Akpabio, saying the party might inadvertently be playing into the hands of the opposition.

 

It will be recalled that Akpabio, a former Minority Leader of the Senate and immediate past minister of Niger Delta Affairs in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari resigned his portfolio following the provision of section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act of 2022 to contest the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has announced on Wednesday that the Senate has rescheduled its valedictory session to Saturday.

The Senate has said that it would probe the concession of Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The probe, the upper chamber said would commence when the Committee on Aviation is constituted. The Senate’s resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Sen. Kawu Sumaila (NNPP-Kano) during Thursday’s plenary.

The motion was tagged “Urgent Need to Reverse the Concession of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano”. Other resolutions by the upper chamber included urging the Federal Government to, if need be, review the entire exercise and give a level playing field to all stakeholders. It also condemned in strong terms, the concession of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja as it was not done in public interest.

One hundred and six out of 143 from North west and North Central law-makers-elect are backing Tajudeen Abbas to succeed Femi gbajabiamila as the House of Representatives speaker and Benjamin Kalu his deputy.

seventy-two out of 92 the North West legislators elect and 32 out of 51 North Central colleagues declared thier support for the duo at the zonal caucus meetings in Abuja.

They appreciated Abbas and Kalu's unrelenting engagement with law makers with opposing views that they reached out, and extending hands of fellowship is something worthy of commendation.  

Ahmed Wase, the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives has congratulated Rep. Tajudeen Abbas and Rep. Benjamin Kalu as the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly. Mr Wase who contested alongside Abbas for the speaker on June 13 said his contesting for the speakership was not about winning but challenged the lack of equity and fairness in his party.

The lawmaker, in a concession and congratulatory message to the duo in Abuja on Wednesday said he would be a partner in the project of deepening the parliamentary democracy. The former Deputy Speaker said he intend to fervently and actively participate in all legislative business of the 10th Assembly and would continue to proudly represent not only the good people of Wase Federal Constituency but Nigerians at large.