WHY SENATORS WANT WABARA REMOVED �Succession problem foils plot
Sam Akpe, Festus Owete, Abuja and Emeka Madunagu
A number of factors have been identified as the real reasons why some senators want Senate President, Chief Adolphus
Wabara, removed.
Saturday Punch investigations revealed that the anti-Wabara group was being propelled by the desire to weaken the
Senate president�s link with President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom they perceive to be steadily gaining a strong foothold
in the Upper House.
Inside sources said the group alleged that Wabara had been pandering to Obasanjo�s whims, since he assumed the
mantle of leadership at the Upper House, unlike the era when Chief Anyim Pius Anyim and the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo
held sway at the Senate.
They also alleged that Wabara was directly responsible for their precarious financial state, as could be seen in
the deliberate reduction of the January-March allocation for a number of senators from N7 million to N1.7m.
The Senate president, they insist, had cleverly designed strategies to frustrate senators by ensuring that they
no longer have the sort of access to funds they had in previous dispensations.
However, Saturday Punch gathered that the senators were angry that the leadership failed to accede to their demand
for a staggered repayment of a N5 million loan some members took shortly before Easter.
An unspecified number of senators had reportedly prevailed on the leadership to source for a loan with which they
would enjoy the Easter holiday and also monitor the March 27 local government election in their respective constituencies.
They were said to have agreed that the advance would be granted on the condition that it would be deducted from
their allocation.
Apparently, some of the senators had reckoned that the leadership would prevail on the new generation bank that
provided the loan to accept a staggered repayment but were miffed when the entire sum and interest were deducted
from their N7m quarterly vote, leaving many of them with a miserly N1.7m balance.
Said the source: �There was an agreed formula for deducting advances, which had been in place since the time of
Chief Anyim. Anyim instituted a financial system which ensured the direct management of the Senate�s resources
by senators rather than the pooling of these funds. When Wabara arrived, he tried to change the system, to ensure
accountability and proper accounting but after a number of executive sessions between July and early September,
2003, the Senate agreed to continue with Anyim�s style. It was on this basis that they shared the allocations for
June-September and October-December 2003 and now January-March 2004. So, what are they talking about?�
Another factor adduced for the move is the drive to pre-empt Obasanjo from assuming total control of the Peoples
Democratic Party in the elective 2005 National Convention.
According to a source at the Senate, the anti-Wabara group had alleged that he was being used by Obasanjo to undermine
any opposition to the president�s desire to influence the choice of his successor.
Said the source: �You know that the 2005 convention will give the direction about where Obasanjo�s likely successor
would come from and they (anti-Wabara senators) feel that the Senate president is acting in the president�s interest
to stop any opposition to Obasanjo�s attempt to decide on his successor. We knew that the battle for 2007 would
come to the Senate but we did not anticipate that it would come this early. Look, they want to push Obasanjo to
a corner where he will be begging for negotiation. Wabara is just being used as a scape-goat.�
A number of South-East senators are said to be nursing the ambition to succeed Wabara, if only to ensure that they
too taste the seat, said another source.
Also, some governors, who are alleged to be angling to run as the vice-presidential candidate to whoever PDP chooses
as its flagbearer are said to be after Wabara.
One of them is said to have boasted that he would do everything to stop Obasanjo from using Wabara to whittle his
influence in the state he governs.
Saturday Punch had reported late 2003 that three governors were up in arms against Wabara on account of the vice-presidency.
But even as the plot tried to get off the ground during the week, the movers may have run into a deadlock over
the choice of Wabara�s successor.
Our correspondents gathered on Friday that most of the senators are opposed to the initial choice of Senator Arthur
Nzeribe as Senate President, in the event that the plot to oust Wabara succeeds.
Over 30 senators reportedly met on Wednesday at the prestigious Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja to plot the removal
of the Senate President, who is currently the head of the Nigerian delegation to a parliamentary conference in
Mexico.
The emergency meeting had been called to prepare the ground for another one on Sunday.
No fewer than five senators from the South Eastern zone have allegedly positioned themselves to succeed Wabara,
who is expected back in the country today.
However, on the basis of seniority recognized by the Senate�s Standing Rules, Nzeribe is said to have the edge
over the others.
The only problem, said a source, is that most members of the anti-Wabara group have said they do not trust him.
One of the senators, who spoke with our correspondent, vowed not to back Nzeribe�s ambition because he did not
trust the Oguta, Imo State-born senator.
It was also gathered that some of the senators are opposed to Wabara�s removal because of the kind of image it
would bring to the upper legislature.
Commenting on the developments, Wabara�s Chief Press Secreatry, Mr. Henry Ugbolue, told Saturday Punch on telephone
that the Senate President�s opponents could not convincingly fault his leadership style.
�If they say that some senators are angry with the leadership, it cannot be a problem of leadership style. This
Senate under Senator Wabara under eight months passed 10 bills, 56 resolutions and the 2004 Budget passed by the
National Assembly under Senator Wabara�s leadership was adjudged the best by President Obasanjo since he became
president. I have seen him make personal sacrifices for the stability of the nation, as he believes that politics
is about give and take. He has done extremely well, even by fellow lawmakers,� he said.
Saturday Punch, April 24, 2004
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