Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information and State Orientation Uchenna Orji has said the place of ranking in the Senate doesn’t prevent Governor David Umahi from being elected as President of Senate.
Orji opined that in electing a Senate President, emphasis should be on nation-building, capability and character to achieve the aspirations of the Nigerians, and not on ranking. He urged the All Progressive Congress (APC) and elected Senators to put sentiments aside and support Umahi.
He said,
“Put sentiments apart and give Umahi a chance as Senate President. You will agree and appreciate that Umahi is a ranking leader in capacity, experience, passion for service delivery and he is a rare leadership gem in Africa.
“Umahi, as governor, has excellent cooperation and working relationship with the Legislative Arm of government. This accounted for his support for a successor, Francis Nwifuru, who is from the background of the Legislature (speaker for eight years and legislator for 12 years).
“Umahi has indebt knowledge of the workings of the legislature as well as intergovernmental relations, and as deputy governor, he stooped to conquer and was cracking the hardest kernel of his boss in fervent humility and profound loyalty.
“As state party chairman, he built the biggest party office ever built by any democratic government in Africa. As governor, he made Ebonyi State a reference point in innovative development in Nigeria.
“In the constitution, the eligibility for being a Senate President is clear. By Section 50 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), every member of the Senate who has taken oath of membership is eligible to be voted for as Senate President.
“Ranking is not given any iota of pre-eminence. The Senators are known to be distinguished representatives of the people who must emphasise the virtue of mental and moral character (not ranking) as a yardstick for who is to be elected President of the Senate.
“Order 3 of the Senate, Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended, has three categories of people that can be elected as President of the Senate of Nigeria. A first timer is clearly empowered by Order 3 to contest for Senate Presidency alongside ranking members and those who came from the Federal House of Representatives.”