PRESIDENT-elect General Muhammadu Buhari has laid down the law for all those vying for principal offices in the National Assembly declaring that he will not support anyone who has had or still has any corruption case pending.
Over the last few weeks, the battle to full key positions in the senate and House of Representatives has heated up with numerous candidates openly campaigning to become senate president and speaker. Under Nigeria's delicate zoning arrangement, both positions are zoned to a geo-political zone, opening up the contest to ranking parliamentarians from the victorious All Progressives Congress (APC) from within that zone.
General Buhari is said, however, to be uncomfortable with most of the aspirants currently fighting for the key positions, as they have one case or the other to answer with the anti- corruption agencies especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Apart from corruption, he is also said to be worried about some legislators who have links with insurgents like Boko Haram.
Senator Chris Ngige from Anambra State had originally been General Buhari's candidate for senate president and would have been an automatic choice if he had won his senatorial seat as the position had been zoned to the southeast. As a result of the problem, the APC has zoned the senate presidency to the north central zone and party leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is said to be backing former Benue State governor George Akume because he is the longest-serving of the party's senators from the zone.
Senators Bukola Saraki from Kwara, Senator George Akume from Benue, Senator Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa State, Senator Danjuma Goje of Gombe State and Senator Ali Ndume from Borno State, are among those vying for senate president. However, only one or two of the candidates has no case with the EFCC and one even has a Boko Haram-related case in court.
General Buhari has said he would want to respect the independence of the National Assembly but would not want to support anyone who has had a graft case in order to enable him have a clean break from the past and pursue his anti-corruption stance to the letter. Of all the aspirants for the senate presidency, one of the two said to be very transparent has questions about his social life and it is believed General Buhari may settle for him.
This aspirant is said to have a lot of things going in his favour except his drinking habit. Those working for him believe, however, that a personal habit which may affect an individual character is better and more manageable than dealing with an alleged corrupt person.
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