With just few days to the inauguration of the 8th Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, STANLEY NKWOCHA writes on the last minute squabble to occupy the four leadership seats at both chambers of the National Assembly.

resident Muhammadu Buhari might have settled in as Nigeria's fifth democratically elected president after the elections but for another arm of government – the legislature, the quest to assume leadership of the senate presidency, deputy senate presidency , house speakership and deputy, has assumed a battle that with just few days to inauguration, can best be described as politically fierce.

In 2007, with about two months to the election, all eyes were on David Mark to emerge the senate president, following the Peoples Democratic Party's zoning of the seat to the north central. It was even more predictable that he was going to be re-elected in 2011 as true to predictions, he went in for his second term in office, having gone unopposed during the nomination. In total, he and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu spent eight years on the saddle while for the House of Representatives, Speakers Patricia Etteh, Dimeji Bankole and Waziri Tambuwal called the shots between 2007 and 2011.

With the defeat of the PDP at the last general elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party last week assumed governance of the country and set to take control of the legislature where it also has majority of elected members.

However, while President Buhari has taken charge of the executive, the legislature can best be described as competitive; no thanks to the seeming battle to conquer the seat at both the Senate and the House of Reps.

Senator Ahmed Lawan, chairman Senate committee on Public Accounts, who hails from Yobe State, is up against Senator Bukola Saraki from kwara State. Saraki is the chairman, Senate committee on Ecology.

Quite a number of senators before it penciled down to Lawan and Saraki had shown interest in the seat. At the last count, George Akume, Abdullahi Adamu, Ali Ndume and Danjuma Goje had all been linked to the seat.

As things stand now, Akume is running on what is said to be a joint platform with Lawan while Saraki is said to be hooked to Ndume.

While the APC has clearly been unable to harmonise interests among the senators and produce a singular candidate for the Senate top job, the vested interests in the legislature both within and outside the Senate chambers has made the power play all too complex. For instance, while Lawan is allegedly being sponsored by Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Saraki on the other hand is said to be under the base support of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Both men are APC chieftains.

Added to this scenario is multiplicity of different groups, promoting the various interests of their respective candidates. While the pro-Saraki group under the aegis of 'The Like-Mind Senators', root endlessly for him, Lawan is not also left out in the cold by several senators who have him as their candidate.

or instance, about 18 members of the group on a visit to former Atiku, last Sunday, sought his blessing for their candidate, Saraki.

Atiku, who called on the party to respect internal democracy and legislative independence, said this was necessary in order to guarantee peace between the executive and the legislature in the incoming administration.

"I am aware that the APC had zoned the senate presidency to the North Central but if the position of the party would change, then the National Working Committee of our party would meet to cancel the position.

"I have always been a democrat and I believe in internal democracy. If your group claims that you have 35 APC senators and that nine out of the 12 senators from the North East are with you, then I think the party needs to respect your agitation," Atiku had said.

Of the 64 senators that the APC has in this Assembly, both Saraki and Lawan have gotten senators divided along individual interests; leaving certainly the PDP senators to determine who will emerge tops as they are 49 in number.

With last minute scheming going on, the PDP senators seem to hold the ace. Following the split among the APC senators, it is now clear that whoever the PDP senators as a group decides to support will win the day. And if the body language of the PDP senators led by David Mark is anything to go by (that is, if they do not spring a surprise and throw out Mark for nomination), Lawan may just emerge tops. The relationship over the years between Mark and Saraki, coupled with the latter’s role in moving five PDP governors to the APC before the elections will definitely be a factor when the chickens come home to roost.

As the power play goes on at the Senate, the House of Reps is not left behind. As a matter of fact, there is more drama, action and detailed manoeuvring playing out at the House for the speakership seat. For the House of Reps, it is power play extraordinaire.

The duo of Hons Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos State) and Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi State) have matched each other squarely and definitely set for a muscle flex come Tuesday. While Gbajabiamila has been tagged as very experienced and an erudite, Hon Muhammed Tahir Mungono from Borno State, Dogara's deputy is being awaited.

The media might be awash and even be amused at the gale of endorsements that is going on at the House of Representatives, but the political heat going on can melt the thickest of ice in the Baltic.

Already, while some accusations of external interference are being levelled against some party chieftains of the APC, some House members have sworn to remain defiant and resolute in their choice of leaders.

For instance, an initial front line aspirant for the job, Hon Abdulmumin Jubrin, who stepped down for Dogara said having "consulted widely with my supporters and colleagues in order to diffuse the prevailing tension, unite the House and ensure a smooth take-off of the Buhari administration, I hereby withdraw from the race for the speakership of the 8th House of Representatives and consequently, throw my weight behind the candidature of Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, one of our senior colleagues; a man of integrity, an astute legislator and an amiable gentle man."

As Dogara scores this feat, so also has Gbajabiamila, as Hon Yussuf Suleiman Lasun has dropped his ambition to support his candidacy. This was long after Mungono did the same.

"I have gone round to engage individual members and groups in order to realise this ambition. But recent events have shown that the party leaders, particularly from the South West, have decided on the candidacy of Hon Femi Gbajabiamila to run for the position of the speaker. As a loyal party man, I cannot do otherwise. I, Hon Yusuf Suleiman Lasun, therefore support the candidacy of Hon Gbajabiamila," Hon Lasun stated.

With clear cut interests at play as well as the external influence being lured and brought into the scene, it is clear that who seats as the speaker of the House come Tuesday would be dripped in sweat – after a hard political battle must have been fought.