By: Oluwatosin Adesola
The legislative arm of government is the heartbeat of democracy in any country hence whenever general election are concluded, lobby by lawmakers-elect to become presiding officers of the parliament is a normal practice worldwide.
Nigeria is not left out of this democratic practice, hence the race for the Speakership and Deputy Speakership of the Ondo State House of Assembly has commenced in earnest among the key players, with different lawmakers scheming and lobbying to take the mantle of leadership ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Assembly in the state come June, 2023.
Selection and election of presiding officers at the National Assembly and most state Houses of Assembly in Nigeria are based on “ranking” and “zoning” as enshrined in the Standing Order of the Parliament.
In this feature, SUNSHINETRUTH critically examines how presiding officers will be elected.
It is not news that the current Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon David Bamidele Oleyelogun, will not be coming back to the House after spending three terms at the state Parliament.
The exit of Oleyelogun from the Hallowed chamber has given room to intensive lobbying by both returning lawmakers and the fresh lawmakers-elect from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, the party that produced 22 out of the 26 members-elect at the assembly.
The 1999 Constitution (as amended) citing Section 311 sub section 1 to 6 gave unfettered power to the Parliamentary arm of Government to make their own guiding rules by way of “Standing Orders” Section 311 sub section 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended clearly states that “The Standing Orders of a House of Assembly established under the former Constitution shall apply in relation to the House of Assembly of a state established under this constitution.”
Subsection (6) “In this section, the “former Constitution” refers to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979″.
CRITERIA OF BECOMING ONDO PRESIDING OFFICERS
Despite some weeks to the inauguration of the new 10th Assembly, the race for the position of the next Speaker of the Sunshine state is already gathering momentum among the elected lawmakers and the question of who preside over the affairs of the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly remain a matter of grave importance.
Of the 26 lawmakers-elect, only four of them secured return mandate and; according to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) backed Ondo State House of Assembly’s Rules and Standing Order (2019) as harmonised by the State Houses of Assembly in the southwest, only Ranking members who are not from the same senatorial district with the incumbent Governor and the incumbent Deputy Governor are qualified to stand for election as the Speaker.
Sections 3, 4, & 5 of the Ondo State House of Assembly Rules & Standing Orders (2019) as Harmonised by State Houses of Assembly in Southwest Region deal with subject matter effectively.
ELECTION OF ONDO ASSEMBLY PRESIDING OFFICERS:
“Election of Speaker: Section 4 of the Standing Order says; “The election of Speaker shall be conducted in the following manner: Nomination of member-elect: (4a) A Member-elect, addressing the Clerk, shall propose a ranking member-elect from the majority party that such member-elect, “Do take the Chair of the House as Speaker of the House of Assembly provided such a nomination shall be seconded by another member-elect
“(4b) Prospective Speaker shall not come from the Senatorial District of Mr. Governor and Deputy Governor.
“Member-elect informs the House of nomination is accepted: (4c) a Member-elect when nominated shall inform the House whether he accepts the nomination.
“(4e)….All members-elect shall be eligible to participate in the voting for Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
On the Election of the Deputy Speaker; the House standing order section 5 says, “the procedure for the election of the Deputy Speaker shall be the same as that of the Speaker, provided the Deputy Speaker shall not come from the same provided Senatorial District of Mr. Speaker.”
In Ondo State therefore, among the four incumbent lawmakers who are returning to the state House of Assembly including; Hon Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi (Owo 1, the current Majority Leader); Hon Oladiji Olamide (Ondo East, current Deputy Majority Leader); Hon Ololade Gbegudu (Okitipupa 11) and Prince Hon Abayomi Akinruntan (Ilaje 1).
Already some names like Oladiji, Akinruntan and a new lawmaker, Princess Tosin Ogunlowo-Ajirotutu from Idanre state constituency are said to be lobbying and consulting for the speakership seat. Some others are also working behind the curtain, holding several secret meetings and are crafting strategies on winning the minds of other House members to push for their candidacy and support their aspirations.
Out of these returning lawmakers, only Oladiji from Ondo Central senatorial district is favored for the top job considering the zoning and ranking requirements. Ogunlowo-Ajirotutu is also qualified from the Ondo Central zone but she is knocked out of the race by the legal framework guiding the Assembly which provides that only ranking member(s) can be Speaker or Deputy Speaker in the state which is also the general rules & practice nationwide”; Except where there’s a Lucuna where no current member of that House who is not from the senatorial districts of the Governor or the Deputy Governor is elected back into the Assembly.
Oladiji popularly known as “Landmark”, is the current Deputy Majority Leader of the House, he is the Chairman House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, and also the Vice Chairman of the State House of Aseembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. He is a member of several House Committees, including Finance and Appropriations, Public Accounts, OSOPADEC, Natural Resources among others.
Oladiji though not a rabble-rouser, but a suave, cerebral, humble and a silent political strategist and he was very active in the proceedings of the outgoing 9th Assembly and nobody will raise an eyebrow if he eventually becomes the Speaker of the Assembly considering his personality attributes.
He enjoys the respect and confidence of his colleagues who are rooting for him, as he is a very experienced investor and businessman. Apart from this, Oladiji is cool headed and possesses the necessary leadership quality to lead the Assembly and ensure the empowerment of his colleagues to fight for their constituents.
Most stakeholders within the Ondo state APC have expressed confidence that the ruling party would direct its lawmakers-elect to ensure they follow the law (House Rules & Standing Order) in electing qualified ranking members as the House Presiding officers in the 10th Assembly.
According to one of the party member in Akure South, Mr Emmanuel Durosinmi, the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu is a man of fairness and justice who spoke out against some infractions in the Zoning of the Parliamentary positions in the national Assemblies which brought out bad blood among the elected members of the rulling party and currently affecting the chances of the ruling party in securing the leadership of the 10th Assembly.
“The people of Ondo Central Senatorial district will not accept any form of manipulation or be allowed it be short changed in power sharing in the state. I believe the Speakership seat will be retained in our zone here. Since Hon Oladiji is well-qualified both as a loyal member, a ranking lawmaker, and he comes from Ondo Central, there should not be stress for the party’s leadership to endorse him.
“I think newly elected lawmakers from our party should know better that only ranking members who are not from the same districts with Mr Governor and the Deputy Governor, can contest the speakership seat.
To have an equitable distribution, it is only right NOT to have the Speaker and or the Deputy speaker from the same senatorial district or local government with the Governor and the Deputy Governor,” Durosinmi said.
Similarly From Ondo South, out of eight lawmakers-elect from the district, only Gbegudu Ololade and Akinruntan Abayomi are ‘ranking members’ who can contest the position of the Deputy Speaker, considering the fact that the position of the Deputy Speaker has been zoned to Ondo South senatorial district since Akeredolu and APC took over power in February, 2017.
Hon Gbegudu Ololade from Okitipupa Local Government representing Okitipupa Constituency II is the current Chairman House Committee on security, culture, tourism, community development and cooperative services, who moved the motion for the passage” and under whose Chairmanship the Law that created the “Ondo state Security Network Agency” codenamed AMOTEKUN was birthed, he has also endeared himself to the public through his developmental projects.
Hon Abayomi Akinruntan is from Ilaje Local Government representing Ilaje constituency l is the current Chairman of the Osopadec Commission Committee, held sway in supervising the activities of the commission in the 9th Assembly, and has also helped in their budget preparations every year.
However, the belief by political analysts is that if the spirit of fairness, loyalty and equity is applied Hon Gbegudu stands a better chance to occupy the Deputy Speakership seat because Akinruntan is from the same constituency with the State Deputy Governor, Aiyedatiwa.
The business of legislature is not for the greenhorn; there is a need to give ranking lawmakers chance to preside over the 10th Ondo Assembly in order to have robust law making that will promote and support various policies of Akeredolu-led administration.
Though, the party leadership is likely to be involved in the distribution of leadership offices in the House of Assembly in order to have control of the affairs within the Hallowed chamber and the state but the party should ensure the emergence of a Speaker who would exercise a selfless leadership that will not be lacking in ideas and capacity to effectively carry out its functions in the house and who will be able to stabilise Akeredolu’s government.
PRECEDENCE AND HISTORY
In 1999 to 2023, the Speakers were elected from Ondo Central Senatorial district since the then Governor, late Adebayo Adefarati and his Deputy, late Hon Afolabi Iyantan came from Ondo North and Ondo South senatorial districts respectively.
Also during the administration of late Dr Olusegun Agagu who was from Ondo South and his Deputy, Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru from Ondo Central, all the Speakers elected were from Ondo North.
Similar sharing formular was applied under Dr Olusegun Mimiko who is from Ondo Central and his Deputies (Ali Olanusi and Lasisi Oluboyo) are from Ondo North, the Speakers came from Ondo South senatorial districts.
The same zoning and ranking were used to produced Bamidele Oleyelogun as the incumbent Speaker from Ondo Central, as the Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and his Deputies, Hon Agboola Ajayi and the current Deputy Governor Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa, from Ondo North and Ondo South respectively.
Few weeks to the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, the race for the position of the next Speaker of the Sunshine state is already gathering momentum among the elected lawmakers and the question of who presides over the affairs of the 10th Ondo State House of Assembly remains a matter of grave importance, as the nation’s Constitution and the House Standing Order must be respected by all the stakeholders.
