By Samuel Ogidan
Abuja
Following the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to meet on the zoning arrangement for the leadership positions in the National Assembly, stakeholders from the North-east yesterday asked the leadership of the party to concede the Senate presidency to the region for the sake of equity, justice and fairness.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the stakeholders, under the aegis of “The Concerned Professionals in the North-east,” said: “We, as concerned professionals, humbly appeal to the APC NEC to consider zoning the Senate presidency to the North-east because in the North, it is the most relegated zone when it concerns sharing of political positions.”
The leader of the stakeholders, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, an accountant by profession, noted that the North-central has always benefitted immensely from political positions zoned to the North, particularly the Senate presidency.
“In this instance, the North-central, which is touted to be in the forefront to clinch the topmost position in the Senate, has benefitted more than any other zones in the region,” he said.
“The North-central has been Senate president for eight years in a row now with Senator David Mark from Benue state as president.
“Secondly, the same Benue state has been Minority Leader since 2011 in the person of Senator George Akume, who is, himself, a former two-term governor of Benue state. All these are in the Seventh Senate.
“Also, in past Republics, Benue state has occupied the Senate president seat at least twice; on different occasions.
“The North-east has always been marginalised in sharing of political positions.
“This is the time to correct this anomaly because, during the just-concluded general elections, the North-east gave more votes to the APC than any other zone in the North or even the North-central for that matter.”
The North-east, Yahaya further argued, delivered almost 100 per cent state governors as well as state and federal lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the North-central caucus senators under the platform of the APC has split down the line over the choice of Minority Leader George Akume and Senator Bukola Saraki to succeed incumbent Senate President David Mark.
The caucus is reportedly split into two camps as some serving senators who have returned to the chamber are rooting for Akume while some members, particularly the newly-elected ones, are supporting Saraki.
Regardless, some ranking senators from the North-central, it was learnt, are mulling the option of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmad Lawan, from Yobe state, “as our consensus candidate because some former governors, even from the North-west, are also eyeing the Senate president seat.
“They are telling the party to discard the ranking rule in the Senate.”
A ranking senator, who comes from a state close to Abuja, explained that Akume was preferred over Saraki because “Akume is accessible and pragmatic. He is even senior to Saraki because he has been in the chamber since 2007.”
Another colleague added that Akume, having been a principal officer for four years, should also be considered, after all, “he has been a principal officer now for four years and he has the requisite experience.”
Regardless, some senators from the North-central argued that Saraki may not be accessible when he becomes Senate president and, secondly, he is rumoured to have eyes on the presidency come 2019.
“We can’t trust him with that office,” a third senator noted.
Another factor in favour of Lawan is “the corruption cases hanging on the neck of some of those jostling for the Senate presidency. Lawan has no corruption case hanging on his neck and he is even the most ranking senator from the North in the APC right now.”
If the APC considers the ranking rule strictly, Lawan has an edge as he has been a lawmaker since 1999. He served two terms in the House of Representatives and he will start his third term as a senator in June.
Blueprint reports that on Tuesday, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Barnabas Gemade, formally endorsed Akume for the Senate presidency.
