Adamu Garba, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, claimed that Barau Jibrin is the highest-ranking and longest-serving senator among those contesting for the office of the Senate president 2023.
Jibrin is the senator representing the Kano North Senatorial District.
According to Garba, the Northwest gave Bola Tinubu the highest number of votes in the just concluded 2023 presidential election. The former presidential aspirant, therefore, made the argument that the zone should be compensated accordingly.
Barau Jibrin himself had also made this claim while declaring his ambition, that he is the highest-ranking senator and most experienced in the house.
CDD Election War Room looked into the veracity of this claim, and here is what we found.
Claim: Is Barau Jibrin the highest-ranking and longest-serving senator amongst the 10th Assembly presidential candidates?
VERIFICATIONS:
Who are the senators vying for the position?
To verify this claim, CDD Election War Room checked the senators vying for the leadership position.
According to the earliest report dated April 12, 2023, those currently eyeing the 10th Senate presidency and have started campaigning to their colleagues and governors are:
- Serving Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North)
- Sani Musa (APC, Niger East)
- Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North)
- Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North)
- Godswill Akpabio (APC, Akwa Ibom North-West)
- Deputy Senate leader, Abdul Ningi (APC, Bauchi Central)
- Abdul- Aziz Yari (APC, Zamfara)
- Ali Ndume
- Osita Izunaso (APC, IMO)
- David Umahi (APC, Ebonyi South)
- Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North),
Both Oshiomole and Umahi, who would be first-time legislators, are interested in becoming Senate president.
While reports have it that the incumbent President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, is also eyeing a return though he is yet to make public his interest, those close to him say he might likely throw his hat into the ring.
However, the media aide to Lawan, Ola Awoniyi, said he was not aware of such moves by his principal.
What is the ranking?
Traditionally, it is not every senator-elect that is qualified to occupy the leadership position, especially when it comes to the two presiding offices: the office of the President of the Senate and the office of the Deputy President of the Senate.
Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides for a bi-cameral legislature as follows: The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
In the Senate, according to Order 3, Rule 2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2022, as amended, on the nomination of presiding officers and appointments of principal officers and other officers of the Senate, it shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators.
For clarity, ranking is determined in the following Order:
- Returning senators based on the number of times re-elected;
- Senators who had been members of the House of Representatives; and
- Those elected as Senators for the first time.
Considering the ranking order, two first-time senators, Umahi and Oshiomhole, are the least-ranking senators. There have been passionate appeals to convince the Senate to quickly amend the ranking rule to accommodate them in the contest.
Is Jibrin Barau the longest-serving and highest-ranking Senator?
For the 10th National Assembly, Barau is not a first-time senator. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1999, elected Senator in 2015, and was re-elected two times in 2019 and 2023, which qualifies him as a high-ranking Senator.
However, he is not the highest-ranking and longest-serving Senator.
Ahmad Lawan is the incumbent Senate President in the 10th Assembly. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1999, elected as a Senator in 2007, and has been re-elected four times in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
Verdict
Based on the ranking order provided by Order 3, Rule 2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2022, as amended, the highest-ranking senator vying for the office of the Senate President is Ahmad Lawan and not Jibrin Barau. However, if Lawan were not among the contestants, Barau will be the highest-ranking and longest-serving senator.