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Labour Party senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Ven. Tochukwu Ikezue, has called on Nigerians, civil society organisations (CSOs) and other advocates of democracy to oppose purported move to reserve the Senate presidency for the incumbent, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in the 11th National Assembly.
Ikezue made the call while reacting to a statement credited to the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno, representing Borno North, who reportedly declared during plenary on Thursday that senators had thrown their weight behind Akpabio and that the position should not be open to contest after the 2027 general election.
The LP candidate described the declaration as undemocratic and an affront to the nation’s democratic principles, arguing that discussions about the leadership of the next Senate were premature when Nigerians were yet to vote in the forthcoming general election.
He questioned the rationale behind moves to determine the leadership of the 11th National Assembly before the election had been conducted and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the winners.
Ikezue also maintained that the office of Senate President was neither hereditary nor the personal property of any individual, insisting that its occupant must emerge through the constitutionally prescribed process.
Citing Section 50 of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended), he said senators were empowered to elect a Senate President from among themselves, adding that no individual or group should attempt to foreclose competition for the position.
According to him, reserving the office for Akpabio would undermine the constitutional rights of senators-elect to participate in determining the leadership of the next Assembly.
The senatorial candidate further alleged that the statement reflected an attitude in which the leadership of the current 10th Senate treated the National Assembly as personal property.
He urged well-meaning Nigerians, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), civil society organisations and other lovers of democracy to speak out against what he described as a threat to democratic principles.
Ikezue insisted that the leadership of the 11th Senate should be decided by senators-elect when the new Assembly convenes in June 2027, rather than through declarations made before the general election.
He called on Monguno and other political leaders to focus on making laws that would address the country’s pressing challenges, particularly hunger and insecurity, instead of discussing the allocation of political offices ahead of the elections.
“Nigeria is not for sale. The Senate is not for sale,” he declared.
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