With the appointment of a former governor of Benue state, Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the North Central Progressives For Development (NCPFD) has urged contenders for leadership positions of the 10th National Assembly from the zone to put their ambitions on hold.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Friday named Akume as the new SGF, giving a semblance of balance in the emerging political calculations.
The appointment came weeks after the North Central protested against the zoning of the Deputy President of the Senate and speakership position of the House of Representatives to the North-west geopolitical zone.
While Senator Sani Musa has indicated interest for the Senate president, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase and Rep Yusuf Gagdi are contesting for the speaker’s position.
One of the groups that earlier protested the zoning arrangement, was the North Central Progressive for Development (NCPFD).
But in a statement on Sunday, NCPFD chairman, Comrade Ibrahim Tajo, said the reservation of the region has been addressed by President Tinubu with Akume’s appointment.
“To the glory of God, our zone now has two key figures in the government. Aside from the SGF, another prominent leader of our zone in the person of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State has been the National Chairman of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last 15 months.
“While Senator Adamu controls the affairs of our party through the instrumentality of the National Working Committee (NWC), our brand-new SGF is the engine room of Tinubu’s administration. Thus, President Tinubu has wiped away our tears in the North Central geopolitical zone.
“Weeks ago, when the positions of the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were zoned by the president and the leadership of our great party to the North West geopolitical zone, we protested against the sidelining of the North Central and appealed for the review of the zoning arrangement given our contributions to the Tinubu’s presidency during the presidential election,” he said.
