Date: 2015-06-05

With the 8th National Assembly expected to be sworn in on Tuesday and hit the ground running, ANDREW ESSIEN looks at select members who will largely impact the Assembly.

The possibly new configuration in the incoming 8th National Assembly and the profile of some of the new members, no doubt, will change the shape and pattern of this arm of government as the new administration settles down for its proper legislative duties.

A breakdown of the winnings in the Senate shows that the PDP won senatorial seats in the South West, comprising Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo and Osun states; 15 in the South East, made up of Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi states; 15 in the South-South which is made up of Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states.

Other Senatorial Seats won by the PDP were five from the North Central, made up of Kwara, Niger, Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau; and then one seat from the Northwest.

The APC won in virtually all the Northern states including one seat from Edo North in the South-South of the country.

In the North East, the APC secured Senatorial Seats in all the six states in the zone, winning one seat in Taraba state and two in Gombe state. The party also swept the entire North western states where they yielded only one seat to the Southern Kaduna senatorial district. The result also shows that the only senatorial seat for the country's capital territory, Abuja went to the ruling PDP.

The Change Mantra of the APC, was perhaps most felt in the House of Representatives. In the 360 seats available within the Green chamber of the National Assembly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will firmly be in control as the majority party with over 214 members. With 300 members from the current composition of the House not returning, the House is literally brand new, leaving just a handful as ranking members.

Interestingly, the 8th National Assembly would also see faces whose personal experiences and resume would perhaps enhance the quality of legislation, which ultimately will impact on the lives of the Nigerian people. They include but are not limited to:

FROM THE RED CHAMBER:

Abubakar Bukola Saraki: a senator from Kwara State, he was elected in the April 2011 elections, having previously served two terms in office as governor of Kwara State. He was appointed as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and is also a member of the Senate Committees on Capital Markets and Finance. He also pushed a motion in the Senate to end the fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria.

Dr. Saraki also intervened in the Lead Poisoning crisis in Zamfara State in 2010, and has supported the Global Alliance for Clean Cook-stoves, which ensures safe and healthy methods of cooking for millions of Nigerians while conserving the environment through reduced deforestation.

George Akume: Senator Akume grew through the ranks in the Benue State civil service to become Permanent Secretary in several ministries before venturing into politics in 1999. A two-term governor of Benue state, he once headed the Northern Governors' Forum. The Minority Leader in the 7th Senate will be expected to play critical roles because of his wealth of experience, especially now that his Party is in the majority in the red chamber.

Rabiu Kwankwaso : Kwankwaso is one man that has seen it all in the Nigerian political firmament. Bold, strong-willed and a dogged fighter, the Kano state governor's experience will be useful to the upper chamber as he comes into the legislative house with valuable experience as former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, eight years' experience as a two-term governor of the most populated state in the Northern region, Kano, and four years' experience as Nigeria's minister of defence. 58years old Kwankwaso will represent Kano APC Central Senatorial District in the Senate.

Ike Ekweremadu: Ekweremadu is definitely one Senator that will play a significant role in the stability of the 8th assembly, being a senator since May 2003 and a Deputy President of the Red Chamber for two consecutive times at a stretch. He holds both Bachelors and Master's Degree in Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Law from the University of Abuja, Nigeria.

He has at various times been Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area, Chief of Staff of the Enugu State Government House, Vice Chairman of the senate committee on Information and Deputy Senate President. He is expected to bring the various knowledge garnered over the years in ensuring quality and sound legislation as the new session begins its activities.

Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko: Wamakko's presence in the Senate will be well received by political analysts as the 62-year-old former governor of his home state, is heading to the red chamber armed with decades of experience in the civil service and government. His performance in office in the last eight years no doubt, paved the way for his smooth entry to the Senate to represent Sokoto Central Senatorial District.

Godswill Akpabio: the apostle of transformational governance and Akwa Ibom State governor, will certainly be one of the Senators that will bring dexterity and vitality to the Senate largely due to his performance as a two-term governor of his oil-rich south-south state.

The outgone chairman of the PDP Governors' Forum, enjoys a lot of goodwill from both within and outside his state. He is expected to bring to the Senate all the transformational experience he garnered in Akwa Ibom State.

FROM THE GREEN CHAMBER:

Femi Gbajabiamila: is currently the minority leader in the outgoing lower chamber and a lawyer by profession. Gbajabiamila has an outstanding record in the House of Representatives and has a good understanding of his party's inner workings. He has good grasp of the rules of the House and with his re-election, he is going for a third term as a representative. A founding member of the APC, he is coming from one of the merger parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and will be expected to play a major role as the House begins serious legislative business.

Yakubu Dogara: This lawmaker, who hails from Bauchi State, is a highly experienced lawyer with 22 years' experience of Law practice and chairman, House Services and Welfare Committee. Dogara is fondly remembered to have led the House debate on January 8, 2012, during the first Special Session of the House of Representatives on fuel subsidy removal which resulted into street protest nationwide for eight days.

Dogara told former president Jonathan during the debate to listen to the voices of the Nigerian people who were on the streets protesting, saying that the "The voice of the people, is the voice of God". He is expected to bring a fire-brand attitude to law-making in the House.

<>Abdulmumin Jibrin: is from Kano and experienced in the economic space as well as having occupied the position of chairman, Committee on Finance since 2011. This equips him with a deep knowledge of public finance and the economy which will be greatly treasured at this point in the nation's existence.

T

he lawmaker is an alumnus of the University of Abuja, Ahmadu Bello University, Harvard, London and the Swiss Business School, Zurich.

Mohammed Monguno: is chairman, House Committee on Agriculture and has been in the House of Representatives since 2007. Also a lawyer, currently representing Marte, Monguno and Nganzai Federal Constituency of Borno State, he will be serving a third term since the return of democracy but he was first elected into the House of Representatives in 1992 on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform under the General Babangida era.

Apart from chairing the House Committee on Agriculture, Monguno served as a member of other committees such as Appropriation, Privatisation and Commercialisation, Public Petitions as well as Rules and Business.

He is equally the leader of the Borno caucus in the House.

Between 2003 and 2007, Monguno was attorney general and commissioner for Justice in Borno State and at some point, a commissioner for Education. He has an LLB from the University of Maiduguri and was called to the Bar in 1990.

Pally Iriase: A former deputy speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly where he completed his four year term without any blemish. He holds the record of being the only deputy speaker to serve a full tenure of four years in the Edo State House of Assembly without being impeached.

A two time council chairman, he eventually became the secretary to Edo State government before proceeding to the House of Representatives in 2011. He is a chartered accountant and holds a Master Degree in Accounting and presently the deputy chairman, House Committee on Legislative Outreach. Iriase is regarded as transparent and gentlemanly in his dealings; attributes that will come in handy in the green chamber.

Israel Ajibola Famurewa: A member of the committees on Air Force; Banking & Currency; Diaspora; House Services / Welfare; Housing and Habitat; Internal Security and Works. Famurewa is an engineer and second term legislator. He represents Osun, Atakumosa / East/ West and Ilesa East /West Federal Constituency of Osun State.