Why Ranking Rules may not matter on the day of inauguration of Senate, election of presiding officers

Returning senators who are latching on the linchpin of ranking rules in the Senate Standing Orders 2022 (as amended) to gain maximum advantage over new members in the race for the senate presidency and deputy senate presidency should not rest assured that the order will avail them in their enterprise on the day of inauguration and election.

THE CONCLAVE reports that this is because the Senate Standing Orders 2022, which have so far guided the sittings and operations of the ninth Senate, will remain “temporarily suspended” immediately the Senate adjourns sine die by early June.

Once inaugurated, the tenth Senate, under the guidance of the newly elected Senate President, will set up a small-sized ad-hoc committee to quickly review the “suspended” standing orders 2022 (as amended) and come up with a revised version for adoption by the house in plenary. The document will thereafter become operative for the conduct of the tenth senate’s business.

Presidential inauguration will hold on May 29, while the new president will issue a proclamation to the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) to inaugurate the tenth National Assembly.

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The CNA will take charge of the inaugural sitting, conduct the affairs on that date, including elections and swearing in of the presiding officers (senate president and deputy senate president)

THE CONCLAVE reports that the CNA will determine the mode of election, call the roll and ascertain that quorum is formed, call for nominations for the positions of senate president and deputy senate president.

No senator-elect can raise any objection or seek to interrupt the CNA during the inauguration and election, especially if any Senator-elect wants to either defend or attack Order 3 (2)(i-iv) on ranking of senators.

The idea of arguing any perceived procedural error will be discountenanced by the CNA leading the Clerks-at-Table because the senators-elect at that point are not Senators yet until after inauguration and swearing in and taking the oath of office.

THE CONCLAVE reports that the CNA will be guided by the provisions of Section 50(1)(a)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in the discharge of his responsibilities during the inauguration and election.

The section provides that a president and deputy president of the Senate and a speaker and a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by members of the Houses from among themselves.

The constitution does not provide for ranking, and it will not be in the place of the CNA to raise it since he is not guided by the Senate Orders, which at that point would remain suspended until the tenth Senate is inaugurated.

The CNA will predicate his call for nominations for election, first into the position of senate president, on the constitutional provisions.

The call for secondments of available nominations, announcement of the mode of election, announcement of the results, will be made and he will thereafter proceed to repeat the same process for election into the position of deputy senate president.

Once both presiding officers have emerged, the CNA will swear them in and exit the chamber. The CNA will head to the House of Representatives to conduct its inauguration and election of presiding officers in the manner it did those of the Senate.

The newly-elected Senate President will assume the responsibility of swearing in the new senators after which he will call the house to order, and hit the gavel on the table to validate the commencement of legislative business by the tenth senate.