* Backs North-central for Senate Presidency
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), under the aegis of Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists (CNCRA), has urged the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to heed the calls for his resignation in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.
The CNCRA said Adamu’s exit as APC national chairman would ensure power balancing in the incoming Bola Tinubu ‘s APC-led government.
The group gave the commendation in a statement signed by its Convener, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, and Secretary, Mr. Sina Akadiri, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Sunday.
The rights activists said Adamu’s resignation would also be a great opportunity for the APC to assuage the feelings of Christians towards the same faith arrangement of the party in the recently concluded presidential election.
The CNCRA commended the National Vice-Chairman (North-west) of the APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman, for demanding Adamu’s resignation.
It argued that the national chairman should quit the stage honourably in a bid to balance the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.
Lukman, had in a statement titled: ‘APC Internal Dynamics and the Future of Democracy’, he issued weekend, stressed that the national chairman of the party must resign to give way to a Christian leader.
The CNCRA said: “Adamu should toe the path of honour and statesmanship by tendering his letter of resignation after the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
“His action would be welcomed and commended by the Christians and it will also pave the way for the emergence of a ranking senator from North-central to become either the president or deputy president of the Senate in the forthcoming 10th National Assembly.”
The right activists noted that they were elated when they heard about the patriotic call by Lukman, urging the former governor of Nasarawa State to sacrifice his position in the interest of peace, unity and harmony.
The CNCRA said it acknowledged the immense contributions of Adamu and the North-central geopolitical zone towards the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.
It noted that the ruling APC should compensate the region by making sure that a dependable, loyal and most ranking senator emerge as either the President or Deputy Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.
Part of the statement read: “As right activists, we have watched and observed with keen interest the recent political developments in the country and have decided to add our voice to the raging controversies over the seemingly inbalances in the polity as it affects the structure of top political offices.
“With the emergence of the president- elect and his vice from the South-west and North-east geopolitical zones of Nigeria, it will be fair and just, for the APC to zone the National Assembly’s presiding officers’ positions to the North-central, North-west, South-east and the South-south geopolitical zones.
“In terms of marginalisation, the popular opinion in Nigeria is that the South-east and the North-central have not produced either the nation’s president or vice-president since the return of democracy in 1999.
“The South-west produced the president between 1999 and 2007 with a North-east man as vice-president.
“In 2007, the North-west produced the president while a South-south man was made the vice-president for a four-year tenure, expected to terminate in 2011.
“However, the South-south vice-president had to complete the tenure of his principal who died in 2010. He was later elected president from 2011 to 2015.
“The North-west took over power again from 2015 to date with a South-west man as the vice-president.
“It is now clear that the race for the position of the Senate Presidency should be between the North-central and the South-east which has never produced either the president or vice-president.
“We therefore urge the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, to step aside as a man of honour, and lead the campaign for the emergence of a presiding officer of the Senate from the North-central.
“We also urge members of the National Working Committee of the APC to reciprocate the immense contributions of Adamu to the party’s success so far by supporting the emergence of a presiding officer from his geopolitical zone.
“The CNCRA hoped that Senator Abdullahi Adamu will demonstrate statesmanship by offering to resign his appointment in order to maintain his highly respected honour and integrity.
“We have carefully studied all the ranking senators-elect from the North-central and we have discovered that Senator Sani Musa, from the Niger East Senatorial District is eminently qualified and should be considered as a Senate presiding officer based on his competence and loyalty to the party.
“The ranking senator, who is the Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, has garnered enough parliamentary leadership experiences having worked closely with the incumbent president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, in the last four years.
“He has no criminal record hanging on his neck and he is well loved and respected by his colleagues both within the National Assembly and the APC family in general.
“We believe that he would offer the country his best and do everything possible to stabilise the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, through effective parliamentary legislation and oversight that would curb revenue leakages and tackle insecurity among others.”
