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  • Everything You Should Know About Nigeria’s Tenth Senate

    The National Assembly elections (Senate and House of Representatives) were conducted on February 25, 2023. But only 98 out of 109 senate seats and 325 out of 360 seats for the House of Representatives have been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This is because elections were postponed in certain places, and some results were declared inconclusive. 

    Some of these places include: Enugu East, Kebbi North, Plateau Central, Sokoto North, South and East, Yobe South and Zamfara Central. The Commission announced that supplementary elections will be held in these regions after the governorship elections conducted on March 18, 2023, but a date hasn’t been announced yet.  

    However, on March 7, 2023, INEC released the names of the senators-elect for the tenth senate and here are some key things to note in the current senators-elect list:

    Don’t hold your breath for gender inclusion

    The 2023 elections had many turns, including almost giving us Nigeria’s first female elected governor, Aisha Binani. While we seem to have moved forward, the reality is different, as the incoming tenth National Assembly will only have three women in the Senate compared to the seven we have presently.

    These women are Banigo Ipalibo Harry of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adebule Idiat Oluranti of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party. 

    The APC controls the Senate

    The Senate has 109 seats, and in the elections, the APC won 57. The PDP won 29 seats, and the Labour Party 6. 

    The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) won two seats each, while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) had one seat each.  

    30 current lawmakers return to the Senate

    In the National Assembly elections, 55 incumbent senators contested to retain their seats but only 30 won their re-election bids. Some prominent names are Orji Kalu, current Chief Whip of the Senate, Seriake Dickson, Danjuma Goje and Adamu Aliero. 

    Fewer ex-governors grace the Senate

    It has become “normal” to see former Nigerian governors end their careers in the Senate. A fine example is the current National Assembly which consists of 17 ex-governors. 

    However, things will be different in the tenth National Assembly as there’ll be only 11 governors in the Senate. These governors are Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom state; Seriake Dickson, former governor of Bayelsa state, Ibrahim Dankwambo, former governor of Gombe state; Aliero Adamu, former governor of Kebbi state; Gbenga Daniel, former governor of Ogun state, Ibrahim Shekarau, former governor of Kano state, Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia state, Adams Oshiomole, former governor of Edo state, Danjuma Goje, former governor of Gombe state, Abdul’aziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state and Ibrahim Gaidam, former governor of Yobe state. 

    The tenth National Assembly is expected to be inaugurated on June 13, 2023, and hopefully, the legislative arm effectively serves and protects the interest of Nigerians for the next four years.

    Tolu Omotesho

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  • Can A Lawmaker Say Anything On The Floor Of The House?

    Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.

    Yesterday, a series of videos surfaced online of how lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly tore into Nigerian youths. From claims ranging from the fact that many Nigerian youths are into “hard drugs”, to claims of how “social media influencers” over-exaggerated the #LekkiMassacre, the lawmakers poured out their hearts at the legislative sitting of the house.

    But did you know that lawmakers cannot be prosecuted for anything that is said on the floor of the legislative chamber, or house?

    Read: Can Nigerians Vote For A New Constitution?

    Legislative Immunity

    Courtesy of Section 1 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act of 2018, no lawmaker can be sued to court for words spoken or written at sessions or committee hearings of the legislative house.

    This means that irrespective of what lawmakers say on the floor of the house, no case can be brought against them in court for what they have said or written.

    So, if a lawmaker says that a majority of Nigerian youths are on drugs, and even if they don’t have the facts to back up the statement, no legal action can be taken against the person for what they have said.

    What Is The Way Out?

    As a citizen of Nigeria, if you are not pleased with what your elected lawmaker has said on the floor of the house, you can recall them.

    We outlined the process here.

    Read: How to Recall A Silent Senator

    We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about how to unfuck yourself when the Nigerian government moves mad. Check back every weekday for more Zikoko Citizen explainers.

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    Doyin Olagunju

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  • Senators In Nasarawa Left All Chill In Their Houses And Fought Dirty
    There are several ways of handling issues in Nigeria which hardly ever includes keeping calm.

    Nigerian senators usually solve issues by either making serious banter…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv0W5aQhqMc
    Because Nigerian women’s lives don’t matter.

    Or fight things out, street style.

    Because decorum is too much stress.

    On April 4, Nasarawa state lawmakers left trash for LAWMA.

    And fought at the state House of Assembly.

    Apparently, Governor Al-Makura’s appointment of 11 new council chairmen was what caused the wahala.

    Some of the senators opposed the Governor’s motion and accused those in support of receiving 50 million Naira bribe from him.

    The newly appointed council chairmen were supposed to be succeeding the former council leaders whose appointments ended on March 24.

    These senators disagreed because they thought the appointments were illegal.

    Na wa oh!

    We didn’t vote them for this sha.

    When those in charge of making the laws that guide the country are actually lawless.

    What a shame!

    Watch full details of the fight here:

    Perhaps, if the passion and anger of this fight is channelled into the Agatu crisis plaguing Nasarawa state, the problem could be solved quicker than imagined.

    [zkk_poll post=27018 poll=content_block_standard_format_9]

    Maryam

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  • Nigerian Senators Were Incredibly Passionate About Women’s Rights On International Women’s Day

    In a world where gender inequality and patriarchy thrive, people in powerful positions ought to work together to provide equal opportunities for everyone.

    The International Women’s Day was set side to recognise and celebrate all the women of the world for their social, political and economic achievements.

    In this gathering that costs Nigeria over 120 billion Naira annually…

    One would think lasting solutions to the country’s problems are discussed and implemented.

     Unfortunately, our Nigerian senators would rather engage in Oshodi fights.

    Or re-enact scenes from Prison Break…

    Or sometimes compare Nigerian women to objects.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGKZBs-p5a0

    And on International Women’s Day rather than address issues such as child marriage, rape, infringed rights to education and other pressing issues…

    They would rather make jokes on how women should be married off in polygamous marriages.

    What’s all this?

    Are Nigerian lawmakers rather very unfortunate?

    Or just incredibly ignorant?

    https://twitter.com/Euphoria9ja/status/707174830936891392

    How can marriage be the only logical way to champion women’s rights?

    Can Nigeria move forward with the rest of the world at this pace?

    Maybe someone could be kind enough to help find the priorities they lost.

    We’re sha not there oh!

    These people should be happy it’s just feminists being angry. I wish women would organise to pelt Senator Ndume with eggs.

    — Editi Effiòng (@EditiEffiong) March 8, 2016

    It’s about time for Nigerian lawmakers to sit up, make research, address issues and make efforts to implement lasting solutions to problems.

    [zkk_poll post=22877 poll=content_block_standard_format_15]

    Maryam

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