Presidential Aspirant, Group Back Barau Jibrin as Senate President

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

An All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential aspirant in the 2023 presidential election, Adamu Garba, has stressed the need for the North-west to produce the next senate president.

He said the Senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin is better fit to emerge.

This is just as a group, Partners for Legislative Agenda for Nigeria has also reiterated its support for Jubrin to emerge as the next president of the senate.

Garba said the office of the senate president should not be seen as a retirement place.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Garba, who acknowledged the entrance of other aspirants into the race, said Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzo Kalu and former minority leader in the Senate, Godswill Akpabio should not see the Senate as a retirement place.

He said: “The office of the Senate president must not be seen as a retirement home for past governors to while away time, but must be seen as a serious office that will make laws that will shape the destiny of Nigeria and transform the life of its citizens,” Garba said while making a case for Jibrin.

“The horse-trading and scheming is currently on as to who become the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly. If we take the Senate Presidency to the North West, we will consolidate North West much better and mainstream them and make every member of the North West a continuous member of the APC, that would keep guaranteeing us victory in subsequent elections and the only one that has that capacity and competence is Senator Jibrin.

“He is the only Senator that won his Senatorial Seat in Kano, that defeated the Kwankwasiyya movement in his Senatorial district.

“Jibrin has headed, chaired and has been part of several Committees in the Senate and is now the Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation. He was  awarded the Northern Senator of the year 2017 by the Nigerian Senate Press Corps.

In October 2022, a Nigerian National Honour of Commander of The Order of The Niger (CON) was conferred on him by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

“While we are talking about the executive arm of the government, we must also look at the legislative arm and in doing this, we must look at the most competent hand of all the candidates that have shown interest to aspire for the office of the senate presidency.

“Without coordination, a good working relationship that is properly aligned with the mission and programmes of the executive, we will hardly get it right, when you don’t have the right legislation in place.

“So, that is why personally, I believe that most of the aspirants of the Senate Presidency knows that there is no person that is as qualified as Senator  Jibrin.

“Why because of all these kinds of issues of trying to compensate one region because they are part of these or that, if we continue to toe this line as the governance level, we will not get it right.

“We are done with the politics, We have the president from the South, and the vice president  from the North, let the other team members that are coming to drive the success of this administration come on the basis of their competencies and capacities.

“When it comes to the National Assembly leadership, we have to look at competence and capacity not regional sentiments or bias.

“We should look at people that are driven by the Party, people that work for the people, persons that are more competent in Senate rules and businesses, somebody like Senator Barau Jibrin seriously fits this profile,” Garba added.

Meanwhile, a group, Partners for Legislative Agenda for Nigeria has reiterated its support for Senator Barau to emerge as the next president of the 10th National Assembly.

In a statement, the convener of the group, Charles Ibiang, said:

“The APC has won the 2023 general elections, the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is from the South-west Nigeria while the vice president-elect, Sen Kashim Shettima is from the North-east.

“We have six geo political zones in the country, two already settled while four are left to be settled. We, as a group is here, to demand that the position of the Senate president should be zoned to the North-west, and in zoning this to the region we demand that the party should consider zoning it to the North  West of Kano State.

“We all know the Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu is from the North Central. So   the West should be considered for the slot and the lot should fall on Kano State which delivered the greater part of the votes for the party in the just concluded election. In Kano,  through Senator Barau Jibrin, the party won and retained the only Senatorial seat of Kano North Senatorial District. Many House of Representatives members representing different Constituencies in the Senatorial District and House of Assembly members and subsequently had the highest votes in North west for the presidential election..

“Now, pursuant to Section 2(a) of the Standing Orders of the Senate, only a ranking Senator-Elect with legislative experience can be duly elected as the president of the senate.

“With the outcome of the presidential and national assembly elections, Senator Jubrin is eminently qualified to contest and occupy the position of the senate president.  Apart from being the most ranking Senator- elect from North West and Kano State, he is a  6th termer, who has sponsored bills and motion with unequal legislative experience. He has the requisite knowledge, education, team player and will be willing to carry everybody along irrespective of political parties, religion, ethnic and language differences. A man of the people himself, will ensure harmonious relationship between the various arms of government, the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.”

“We therefore urged the APC to consider the North-West zone  specifically for the job and Senator Jubrin from Kano State, representing the good people of Kano North Senatorial seat fits the bill.”