The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Monday confirmed zoning arrangement as earlier reported with the party settling for a former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Goodwill Akpabio as the next Senate President and Senator Jubril Barau as Deputy Senate President.
Also for the Green Chamber, the party announced Abbas Tajudeen as Speaker and Benjamin Kalu as the next Deputy Speaker.
With this decision, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Osita Izunaso, Senator Musa Sani, Hon Muktar Aliyu Betara, Hon Ado Doguwa, and a host of others contesting for the top leadership positions in the Senate and House of Representatives may have lost out.
…The APC decision
A meeting last Friday with the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had reached an agreement on the sharing formula for the six offices each in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
In the sharing formula as announced, the North-central was not considered for any position, even as the North-west got the position of Speaker and the Deputy Senate President.
The development, however, generated heat when a North-central group on the platform of the APC Stakeholders Forum, Monday, stormed the national secretariat of the party to protest exclusion of the zone from the leadership of the National Assembly.
Announcing the official position of the party Monday evening, APC National Publicity Secretary Barrister Felix Morka, said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) met and ratified that the Senate President should go to the South-south, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Deputy Senate President to the North-west, Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano).
In the House of Representatives, the party confirmed that the position of Speaker would go to the North-west, Hon. Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna) and Deputy Speaker South-east, Hon Ben Kalu (Abia).
“The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met today, Monday, May 8, 2023 to consider reports of consultations and meetings held with the President- Elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, other Party leaders and stakeholders on zoning arrangement for 10th National Assembly leadership positions.
“The NWC noted with respect the outcome of the meetings held between the President-Elect and the leadership of the NWC. The NWC called for further and better consultation with necessary stakeholders in order to assure the support of the aspirants to the National Assembly leadership positions and members of the Party nationwide,” Morka said.
The party urged party leaders, members and all Nigerians to continue to work for peace and progress of the country during and beyond the current period of leadership transition.
…North Central group protest
Speaking during a protest to the national secretariat, the North-central group, led by Salihu Ibrahim, said it is unfair to exclude the zone from the equation of things as regards the leadership of National Assembly.
Ibrahim said: “We are all here to call the attention of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and to congratulate the President-elect, and to tell him that we, the North-central have contributed a lot to his success and we want to still tell him that we are being marginalised as regards the sharing formulas of offices of the 10th National Assembly.
“The party has not taken the North-central into consideration and it is outrageous. We are not happy right from the emergence of the APC, we the North-central have contributed largely to the development of APC and up till date we are still on it.
“The North-central should be taken seriously and compensated adequately. Our zone should be recognised and appreciated by the APC National level. If Abdullahi Adamu under his watch can allow this to happen to us, yes, we respect his leadership, his stability in the party, but the stability is not paying the North-central.
“Our demand is that the 10th Assembly Speakership should be zoned to North-central if they can’t give us the Senate President.”
Earlier before announcement of the zoning arrangement by APC NWC, one of the contenders in the Senate, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), told journalists that whatever decision the party takes on zoning will be considered as required inputs into leadership selection while the ultimate and final decision lies with the federal lawmakers – elect.
“As it is done in most democracies, political parties will advise on how leaders of parliament should emerge but votes for that resides with the elected lawmakers.
“Both Chambers of the National Assembly have elected lawmakers on the platform of different political parties who all have one vote each, when it comes to election of interested lawmakers for the Presiding officers’ positions.
“Party will take its decision as far as zoning is concerned but the elected lawmakers will know how to cross the bridge when they get there,” he said.
..Yari group too
Meanwhile, a group committed to the emergence of Senator-elect Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari as the next Senate President, Good Governance Initiative (GGi), has berated a group of Non-Serving Senators of the Second to the Fourth Republics, for calling on Senate presidential aspirants to step down from the race for Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The pro-Yari group said the call by the former lawmakers amounts to double standard as many members of the hitherto unknown group had championed the independence of the legislature in the past when it suited their interests.
Seventy-two former federal lawmakers on the auspices of Non-Serving Senators of the Second to the Fourth Republics led by Senator Basheer Lado, had earlier Monday, endorsed the choices of Akpabio and Barau.
But in a statement in Abuja, National President of GGi, Kunle Sanusi, while reacting to the endorsements, said such call was undemocratic and uncalled for in a constitutional democracy.
“These were people who functioned as lawmakers at the highest level of this country previously. They ought to understand fundamental rights of individuals as enshrined in the constitution. They ought to understand constitutional democracy like ours. Many of them on the list once championed the independence of the parliament. So, what has changed?
“The best answer to the question is double standard on their part, for their selfish gains. However, His Excellency Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari will exercise his rights within the confines of the Senate Standing Rule and the 1999 Constitution as amended. He can’t be intimidated by this kind of gang-up since the former Senators have no voting rights on the floor of the Senate on one hand.
“On the other hand, Senator Godswill Akpabio was part of the PDP Senators who voted for a Senate President to ensure the independence of the legislature in 2015. Now he has changed, he wants to be handpicked and not emerged through a democratic exercise. That tells you the kind of Senate President they want to install on the 10th National Assembly,” Sanusi stated.
… Southeast Caucus kicks
And from the South-east Caucus of Senators-elect came a position that the ruling party’s decision had marginalised the zone.
Spokesman of the group, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, said this Monday while featuring on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme monitored by Blueprint in Abuja.
The lawmaker representing Anambra South in the National Assembly contended that if the South-east produces the next leader of the upper lawmaking body, it would help in strengthening the unity of the country.
He said: “For me and our people from the South-East, we are still very strong in contesting for the office of the Senate President of Nigeria for the 10th Senate. That is our position for now.
“So, in the course of consultation, we would continue to update Nigerians about our position. But for now, I am still in this studio, the position of the South-East caucus [of the Senate] is that we are going to contest for the Senate President of Nigeria.”
While making a case for equity, Ubah said the South-east senators had unanimously agreed that the position should come to the region.
He said: “That is our position for now,” insisting Kalu and a Izunaso were fit for the top Senate job.
The lawmaker said senators-elect from the region will, however, meet to finalise plans to pick a candidate.
On the argument in some quarters that the APC got least votes in the 2023 presidential election, Ubah said for the sake of fairness, there should be a “balance of the equation” in the distribution of key positions in Nigeria.
“I think after the presidential election, I think equity demands that we would sit down and look at every region because we are talking about Nigeria,” the lawmaker added.
“Nigeria is not divided on who brings the vote and who does not bring the vote. Are we not part of Nigeria?
“We need it in order to balance the equation,” he noted.
