There is confusion in the Senate. When there is uncertainty about the majority party and the minority party in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, it is a striking sign that the Red Chamber is upside down.Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) argued about the numerical strength of their parties in the Senate on December 13. It was a curious argument because the position of Senate Leader is supposed to be held by a member of the majority party. So if Lawan holds the position, it should mean that his party is the majority party in the Senate.But clearly, the situation is not so clear. For instance, Senate President Bukola Saraki, who was formerly a member of APC, still holds the position despite his defection to PDP in July. He should have been removed from that office because he attained the position on the basis of being a member of the majority party. If Saraki is still President of the Senate, it suggests that PDP is the majority party in the Senate. Is it' If it is not, Sarakis occupation of the office discredits him and the Senate.It is noteworthy that Saraki was quoted as saying: Our Constitution says members of the National Assembly who so wish (shall elect a President) it does not say you have to come from the majority party. There are those that know that. This position is unprincipled.Saraki became President of the Senate controversially. He actualised his ascendancy through an unapologetic defiance of his partys desire and decision. His scheming resulted in a queer combination and cohabitation at the helm of the Senate: Saraki of the ruling APC, a party elected to power on the premise of progressivism, and Ekweremadu of the unprogressive PDP. As things stand now, Saraki and Ekweremadu are both PDP members and the Senate leadership is in the hands of PDP.It is puzzling that numerical strength became an issue. But it is also enlightening. A report captured the argument between Ekweremadu and Lawan: The Senate Leader pointedly dismissed reports that the confirmation of the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo, as a board member of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), did not follow the due process. Lawan said: The media reported that APC has 57 senators while PDP has 58. For the record, APC senators are 56 while PDP senators are 46. Again, the media reported that majority of senators voted against the confirmation of Keyamo, but that you (Ekweremadu) ruled that the ayes had it. I want to put it on record that when you put the first question, it was not clear whether the ayes or nays had it. But by the time you put the second question, it was clear that the ayes had it.The report continued: Ekweremadu, who appeared uncomfortable with Lawans submission, said: The issue of how we vote is determined by voice vote, and it is based on the decision of the presiding officer. If anybody has issues with the ruling, we can call for division. But since nobody called for any division, it meant that senators were in tandem with the ruling. So, it wont be proper for newspapers to report what is not correct. As regards the party configuration, I want to say there is no particular statistics for now. We cannot talk about the figures that each political party has because there is no such statistics. So, let it be on record that we have no such record now.The Deputy Senate Presidents assertion is absurd. If there are no official figures that can clarify the numerical strength of the parties in the Senate, it is a confirmation of confusion.An August 5 report gives an insight into the comedy of figures in the Senate: The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC took a dramatic turn on the floor of the Senate as 14 senators elected on the platform of the party dumped it for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the African Democratic Congress, ADC. With the defection, the number of PDP senators rose from 42 to 56, thereby making it the majority party in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.The report added: Prior to the development, the APC officially had 64 seats in the Senate, but now has 50 while the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) has one with the remaining two seats vacant on account of the death of Senator Ali Wakil ( Bauchi South) and Bukar Mustapha (Katsina North). The defection of the senators was contained in a letter read by Senate President Bukola Saraki who presided at plenary. They said that their action came after due consultations with their constituents. Soji Akanbi (Oyo South) later made a U-turn, saying he remained a member of the APC.The report continued: Soon after the defection, PDP senators embraced one another, rejoicing that they now form the majority in the red chamber. It got to a point that the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, drew the attention of his colleagues to the fact that his party, the PDP, was now the majority and that he should immediately be recognised as the Majority Leader After the drama that unfolded at the hallowed chamber, the Senate caucus of the APC said that, in spite of the dumping of the party by 14 of its members for the PDP, it was still the majority party in the upper chamber.It is interesting that Senator Akpabio, who was a PDP member and Senate Minority Leader at the time this mass defection happened in July, is now an APC campaigner. Akpabio moved to APC in August. This shows how things change in the Senate and how senators change.There are 109 seats in the Nigerian Senate. This figure has not changed. But who belongs where keeps changing. The public should be clear about where their elected representatives belong, and which party is the majority party in the Senate.
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