Former Senate President, David Mark was neither named chairman, nor vice chairman of any of the committees announced by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki on Wednesday.
Although no reason was given for the exclusion of Mark, who was the Senate President between 2007 and 2015, in the chairmanship list, it was gathered that he might have excused himself.
Saraki announced the much-expected standing committees and named their chairmen. Sixty-five senators in the 109-member chamber were named as chairmen.
All Progressives Congress (APC) senators got 41 chairmanship positions and 24 slots went to their colleagues from the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
With the inauguration of Senator Kaka Garbai (Borno Central) yesterday, the ruling APC now has 60 senators against PDP’s 49.
The Northcentral geo-political zone, with 13 chairmanship positions, got the highest portfolios. The Southwest, Northwest and Northeast has 11 slots each and the Southeast and Southsouth has 10 positions each.
The Senate President had in July asked his colleagues to fill forms, expressing thier choice committees.
He had said: “Senators are advised to fill the forms indicating their interests in belonging to the committees of their choice and it is a maximum of five committees per senator.
“The forms will be distributed by the Clerk. You can also take a look at the form and make your submission to the Leader of the Senate.”
Saraki’s rival in the contest for the Senate presidency on June 9, Ahmed Lawal, emerged as the Chairman of the Defence Committee. He also named another opponent, Kabiru Marafa as the Chairman of the Committee on National Population Commission (NPC).
Senator Danjuma Goje, (APC Gombe) was the Committee on Appropriation portfolio. Senator John Owan Enoh (PDP Cross), who headed the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation for four years before crossing over to the Senate on June 9, got the Finance Committee chairmanship slot.
The duo of Donald Omotayo Alaosoadura, (APC Ondo) and Uche Lilian Ekwunife, (PDP Anambra) were named the chairmen of the committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Petroleum (Downstream) respectively.
The former Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on Media & Public Affairs, Dino Melaye (APC Kogi), who was named the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Committee Chairman, said that the adjournment was to allow its four ad-hoc committees conclude their assignments and submit their reports next week.
Babajide Omoworare (APC Osun) retained his chairmanship of the Committee on Rules & Business, with Senate Leader Mohammed Ali Ndume as Vice Chairman.
Also, Ibrahim Gobir (APC Sokoto), retained his chairmanship of the Services Committee, with Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger) as his deputy.
Samuel Anyanwu (PDP Imo) also retained the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges & Public Petitions and Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC Kebbi) was named as his vice. Andy Ubah (PDP Anambra) also retained the chairmanship of the Committee on Public Accounts with Gbolahan Dada (APC Ogun) as the vice.
Kwara APC Senator Shaaba Lafiagi heads the Committee on National Security & Intelligence and the immediate past Plateau governor, David Jang is the committee’s vice chairman.
The five committees on Rules & Business; Services; Ethics, Privileges & Public Petitions; Public Accounts and National Security & Intelligence are statutory committees of the upper legislative chamber.
Other standing committees include Agriculture, Abdullahi Adamu (APC Nasarawa) as Chairman and Theodore Orji (PDP Abia) as vice; Air Force, Duro Samuel Faseyi (PDP Ekiti) as Chairman with Ali Wakili as vice; Army, George Akume (APC Benue) as Chairman with Ibrahim Abdullahi Danbaba as vice; Anti-Corruption & Financial Crimes, Godfrey Chukwuka Utazi as Chairman and Sani Mustapha as vice; Goje as Appropriation Committee Chairman has Sunny Ogbuoji as his vice and Aviation with Hope Uzodinma as Chairman, has and Bala Ibn Na’Allah as the deputy.
The other committees are: Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions with Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim as Chairman and Achonu Nneji as vice; Capital Market with Senator Isiaka Adeleke as Chairman and Foster Ogola as vice; Communications with Gilbert Nnaji as Chairman and Solomon Adeola as vice; Cooperation & Integration in Africa and NEPAD with Abubakar Sani Danladi as Chairman; Culture & Tourism with Mathew Urhoghide chairman and Abubakar A.M. as vice; Customs, Excise & Tariff with Adamu Aliero and Samuel Anyanwu as Chairman and Vice chairman respectively.
They include the committees on Defence with Ahmed Lawan as Chairman and Jeremiah Useni as vice; Diaspora & Civil Societies with Rose Oko as chairman; Drugs & Narcotics with Joshua Lidani as Chairman and Philip Gyunka as vice; Petroleum (Downstream) with Uche Ekwunife as Chairman and Jibrin Barau as vice, Ecology & Climate Change with Bukar Abba Ibrahim as Chiarman and Danjuma La’ah as vice; Education (Basic & Secondary) with Aliyu Wamakko as Chairman and Rose Oko as vice; Employment, Labour & Productivity with Suleiman Nazif as Chairman; Environment with Olaka Johnson Nwogu as Chairman and Oluremi Tinubu as vice and Establishment & Public Service with Emmanuel Paulker as Chairman and Suleiman Nazif as vice.
The FCT Committee headed by Melaye has Mohammed Hassan as vice; Federal Character has Salihu Egye as Chairman and Suleiman Hunkuyi as vice; Finance, which has Enoh as Chairman has Umaru Ibrahim Kurfi as vice; Foreign Affairs, Munsurat Sunmonu as Chairman with Shehu Sani as vice; Gas has Bassey Albert Apkan as Chairman and Abubakar Ahmadu Moalaahyidi as vice; Health, Lanre Tejusho as Chairman and Mathew Urhoghide as vice; Housing, Barnabas Gemade as chairman and Francis Alimikhena as vice; Information and Communications Technology (ICT) & Cyber Crime has Buhari Abdulfatai as Chairman with Foster Ogola as vice
Abubakar Kyari Nelson Effiong are the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Committee; Information & National Orientation has Enyinnaya Abaribe as Chairman and Ibrahim Danbaba as vice; Interior has George Thonpson Sekibo as Chairman with Bayero Usman Nafada as vice; Inter-Parliamentary Affairs has Bayero Usman Nafada as Chairman; Industry has Sam Egwu as Chairman with Buhari Abdulfatai as vice; Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters has David Umaru as Chairman with Godswill Akpabio as vice; Committee on Land & Transport has Olugbenga Ashafa as Chairman with Philip Aduda as vice and Local & Foreign Debts has Shuhu Sani as Chairman with Senator Philip Gunka as vice.
Others also named included Committee on Marine Transport with Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani as Chairman with Senator Ighoyota Amori as vice, Committee on Media and Public Affairs has Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi as Chairman with Senator Murray Bruce as vice; Committee on Public Procurement has Senator Abdulsalami Ohiare as Chairman with Senator Yele Omogunwa as vice, Committee on National Identity & National Population has Senator Kabiru Marafa as Chairman with Abubakar Sani Danladi as vice; National Planning & Economic Affairs with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso Danjuma La’ah as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively.
The Committee on Navy has Isa Hamma Misau as Chairman with Osinachukwu Ideozu as vice; Niger Delta has Peter Nwaboshi as Chairman and Abubakar Abdulrahman as vice, Police Affairs has Abu Ibrahim as Chairman with Stella Oduah as vice; Power has James Manager as Chairman with Bukar Mustapha as vice, Primary Health Care & Communicable Diseases has Mao Ohuabunwa as Chairman with Olusola Adeyeye as vice; Privatisation has Ben Murray Bruce as Chairman with Abdullahi Yahaya as vice; Science & Technology has Robert Ajayi Borofice as Chairman with Marafi Bashir as vice; Solid Minerals has Joshua Dariye as Chairman and Rilwan Adesoji as vice; Sports has Obinna Ogba as Chairman with Kabiru Marafa as vice; Special Duties has Senator Murtala Nyako as Chairman with Sunny Ogbuoji as vice; State & Local Government has Senator Abdullahi Gumel as Chairman with Kashamu Buruji as vice; Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND has Binta Masi Garba as Chairman with Tijjani Yahaya Kaura as vice; Trade & Investment has Fatimat Olufunke Raji Rasaki as Chairman with Sabo Mohammed as vice; Petroleum (Upstream) has Senator Donald Omotayo Alaosoadura as Chairman with Bassey Gershom as vice and Water Resources has Mohammed Ubali Shittu and Emmanuel Bwacha as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively.
Other committees are: Women Affairs with Oluremi Tinubu as Chairman Stella Oduah as Vice Chairman; Works has Kabiru Gaya as Chairman with Clifford Ordia as vice; Poverty Alleviation & Social Welfare has Ali Wakili as Chairman with Godfrey Chukwwuka Utazi as vice.
The geo-political distribution of the committees shows that Southwest got 11 committee chairmanship portfolios; Northwest (11); Southeast (10); Northcentral (13); Northeast (11) and Southsouth (10).
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