Two days after the emergence of principal officers in both Senate and House of Representatives, lawmakers in both chambers have intensified lobbying for chairmanship of committees, Daily Trust reports.
Bamidele had said with the emergence of the majority and minority caucus, which makes up the principal officers, they would hit the ground running.
“The first task ahead of us is to constitute special committees of the 10th Senate. Our rules make provision for six special committees.
The Senate has about 70 standing committees but the most sought-after include: Appropriation, Finance, Judiciary, Public Accounts, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Works and Niger Delta Development Commission.
Others are Power, Health, Tertiary Education and TETFUND, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Gas, Defence (Army), Communications, Aviation and Independent National Electoral Commission.
They are termed ‘juicy’ because of the largesse and other opportunities available to the chairmen.
Hot lobbying in Senate
Since the emergence of the principal officers, senators eyeing heads of various standing committees have intensified their lobby, deploying different strategies to outdo one another.
In their quest to get key committees, sources told Daily Trust that senators were avoiding being confrontational to the leadership of the Senate and resorting to following the presiding officers wherever they go so as not to be forgotten.
It was not immediately clear if some names had been penciled down, senators who worked for Akpabio during the campaign for Senate presidency race have stepped up their push for heads of juicy committees.
Daily Trust reports that the presiding officers usually reward lawmakers that worked for their emergence with such juicy committees.
For instance, Senator Adeola Olamilekan Solomon (APC, Ogun West), who was among the top campaigners for Akpabio, was said to be jostling for the chair of the appropriation committee.
Adeola, who chaired the finance committee in the 9th Senate, is always seen around Akpabio in and out of the National Assembly.
Despite the tension the jostling for principal offices generated, the process that threw up the majority and minority leaders was rancour-free.
It was gathered that the selection of principal officers, especially the minority leaders was devoid of acrimony because aggrieved lawmakers decided not to protest in anticipation of being rewarded with chairmanship of juicy committees.
Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi) was among the arrowheads of Senator Abdulaziz Yari’s campaigners for Senate presidency. He was also part of the opposition senators jostling for Senate minority leader.
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