The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has now made available a partial list of legislators-elect based on the February 25 National Assembly (NASS) election.
The NASS comprises two legislative houses. The upper house is the Senate, with 109 seats: three for each of the 36 states of the federation and one for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The lower house is the House of Representatives (HOR). There are 360 available seats in the HOR, varied unevenly across constituencies. Lagos and Kano have the most seats, with 24, while the FCT has the least; two seats.
By May 29, when a new administration takes office, they too will reconvene to constitute Nigeria’s tenth national assembly. Here are a few things to look out for:
Fewer ex-governors than usual
[The Nigerian Senate / Arise]
The Nigerian senate is perceived as a retirement home for term-limited governors. Since 1999, many past governors have found the senate a lucrative cash cow to fund their baby boy lifestyles. However, that trend is about to change.
Several outgoing governors lost their bids to transfer to the senate, including Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Samuel Ortom of Benue. Only two out of nine outgoing governors successfully transferred to the senate.
Upsets in the national assembly
There were a few shocks from the national assembly elections. The All Progressives Congress (APC) chair, Abdullahi Adamu, who vacated his seat (Nasarawa West) upon assuming the position of party chair, lost his senate district to Aliyu Wadada of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
[APC chair, Abdullahi Adamu / Vanguard]
The senate spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru, a former attorney general of Osun representing Osun Central at the senate, lost to the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Fadeyi Olubiyi.
In the HOR, the deputy chief whip, APC’s Nkeiruka Onyejeocha from Abia, lost her re-election bid as she bowed out to Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party (LP).
Fewer women seats
While INEC is yet to release a full list of legislators who won seats in the national assembly, we can infer, based on the ones seen so far, that women’s representation in Nigerian politics still has a long way to go. Only three women made it to Nigeria’s senate.
It’s disheartening as 378 women contested for office at the national assembly. We can only hope results from the March 11 elections boost better returns for women running for elective offices at the state level.
Oshiomole and other familiar faces make their senatorial debut
Former labour union chair, Edo governor and APC chair, Adams Oshiomole, has completed the quadruple as he clinched a seat at the senate. Oshiomole defeated the PDP incumbent, Francis Alimekhena, by some distance to earn a seat in the red chamber.
Oshiomole is not the only new entrant. Ned Nwoko of Delta North district, who has had his fair share of controversy, defeated the APC incumbent, Peter Nwaoboshi, who finished third. Jimoh Ibrahim, another controversial businessman representing the Ondo South district, is another new entrant to the senate running under the APC’s banner.
Labour Party makes significant inroads into the national assembly
[Labour Party Supporters / Bloomberg]
Off the back of the Obidient movement, the LP can count itself as one of the big winners at the just concluded general elections. While the top position didn’t materialise, yet, the party can boast 40 out of 469 seats in the national assembly. These include six in the senate and 34 in the HOR. This is an impressive feat, given that the LP won zero seats in the 2019 elections. The tenth assembly is taking on a different structure now. Let’s see how it performs over the next four years.
