*Moves to compensate North-central*Abbas, Kalu urge Sanwo-Olu to reach out to govs, other aspirants
*Yari writes senators-elect, insists on contesting for Senate presidency
Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Segun James in Lagos
Following the protests over the zoning of the National Assembly leadership positions by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which ceded two slots to the North-west geopolitical zone and none to the North-central, the party may kick off the process of reviewing the zoning arrangements this week, THISDAY has learnt.
THISDAY gathered that while the President-elect, Bola Tinubu has stood in solidarity with the APC’s preferred choice of candidate for the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the ruli party is making moves to compensate the North-central geopolitical zone.
This is coming as the party’s anointed candidate for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, and the preferred choice for Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, have urged the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to reach out to his colleagues and other aspirants to ensure the success of the party’s preferred candidates.
Also, despite the selection of the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Akpabio, as the party’s preferred candidate for Senate President, a former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari, has written to the Senators-elect on his ambition to contest the Senate Presidency.
At a meeting with some of the aggrieved aspirants last Thursday, the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, admitted that the leadership of the party did not consult sufficiently before arriving at its position on zoning and promised that the party would reconsider its position.
It was gathered that under the planned review, which will be subject to the approval of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, the ruling party may reconsider the positions zoned to the North-west and the South-east geopolitical zones.
THISDAY’s investigation revealed that Adamu has started consultations with individual aspirants and critical stakeholders within the party to canvass their support for the proposed review of the zoning arrangements.
It was gathered that he had reached out to about six aspirants in both the red and green chambers with a firm assurance that a slight adjustment would be made to pacify the regions that felt short-changed in the process.
Some of the aspirants told THISDAY that Adamu assured them at separate meetings held with him that the process of reviewing the zoning arrangement would kick off this week.
A returning senator from the North-central geopolitical zone, who spoke to THISDAY yesterday on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Adamu gave him assurances that the proposed review would commence this week.
The ranking senator said: “Anybody that knows the National Chairman of our party would know that he is not a frivolous person.
“He says what he believes in and his position on the matter is in the best interest of the party.
“Many lawmakers are not happy that their geopolitical zones were not treated fairly in the zoning arrangements. The chairman is pushing for justice, equity, and fairness.
“He had assured us that something would be done on the matter this week.”
An aspirant, who also craved anonymity, confirmed the latest development in a chat with THISDAY, explaining that two zones are being considered in the proposed review.
He said: “The chairman had assured us that there is no way the North-west would be allowed to produce two presiding officers.
“So, the leaders of the party are looking into the position allocated to the South-east and the fact that the North-central was totally excluded.
“The problem was caused by the inordinate ambitions of some people who are desperately looking for presiding officers’ positions at all costs. We have to apply caution in the whole thing,” he added.
Further investigations by THISDAY revealed that opposition lawmakers held a series of meetings with the aggrieved aspirants in separate locations in the last 48 hours.
An opposition party’s Senator-elect from the South-west geopolitical zone, who spoke to THISDAY in confidence said he had held meetings with four different aspirants in the last two days.
He said: “I am not sure that the zoning arrangements announced by the APC are working. As opposition senators-elect, what we had agreed upon is that we would study their characters and qualifications before we cast our votes. APC cannot choose presiding officers for us,” he added.
Another Senator-elect, however, told THISDAY that any planned review would be subject to Tinubu’s approval.
He argued that in the absence of the President-elect, who approved the current zoning formula as announced, Adamu does not have the final word on the matter.
According to him, the pronouncement made by Adamu on the matter was to douse tension.
“The NWC led by Adamu is just begging for time. There is nothing he can do or the party until Tinubu returns,” the senator-elect from the North-central explained.
He asked: “What do you expect them to say? The mistake if we call it so, has been made. On our side, we know that it was done deliberately; we wait to see what will be done when the President-elect is back.”
The crisis over the zoning arrangements got to a peak when the trio of Senators Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North); Sani Musa (Niger-east) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara-west) stormed the national secretariat of the APC and rejected the zoning arrangements.
The aggrieved aspirants told Adamu that the zoning arrangements were unacceptable to them and their constituents.
The APC had micro-zoned the position of the Senate President to Senator Godswill Akpabio (South-south); Jibrin Barau (North-west) as his deputy; Tajudeen Abass (North-west) as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Benjamin Kalu (South-east) as his deputy.
But Kalu, Musa, Yari, as well as aspirants for the position of the Speaker protested the zoning arrangements.
Abbas, Kalu Urge Sanwo-Olu to Reach out to Govs, Other Aspirants
Meanwhile, the anointed candidate for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, and APC’s preferred choice for Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, have urged the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to reach out to his colleagues and other aspirants to ensure the successful emergence of the party’s preferred candidates.
The duo made the request yesterday when the governor hosted them and the members of the Joint Task Team of the House in their maiden consultative engagement to seek bipartisan support from the governors
Abbas urged Sanwo-Olu to reach out to other governors and other aspirants for conversation that would make the election of presiding officers hitch-free.
He pledged that he would not fail the party and his predecessors.
On his part, Kalu promised that the Abbas-led leadership would project institutional trust in the 10th National Assembly, adding that the decision of the House would reflect the interests of Nigerians.
Also speaking, the Leader of the Joint Task, Hon. Bello Kumo, representing the Akko federal constituency of Gombe State, said the Abbas-led leadership would not compromise the independence of the House.
The lawmaker said the team was not interested in just winning the election, but also having a peaceful 10th National Assembly.
He urged Governor Sanwo-Olu to speak to his colleagues on the need to buy into the agenda.
Responding, Sanwo-Olu, suggested that the incoming leadership of the 10th National Assembly should reflect the diversity of the country, describing both National Assembly chambers as “people’s houses.”
Sanwo-Olu, who said the unity of the country was more important than the aspirants’ ambition, urged Abbas and Kalu not to take any member-elect for granted.
He said: “This race to elect leadership in the House of Representatives should reflect the true federal composition and political diversity of the country. Here today, I have seen diverse political parties and representatives from all regions coming together to work as a team in electing the Speaker. I urge you not to stop at this; you should further deepen your engagement and extend the hand of comradeship to every member.
“At the end of the day, your aspiration is not about you or your colleagues in the chamber, but about Nigerians. The objective must be about joining forces with the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make life better for the people, improve the economy and strengthen security. Greatest good must be achieved for the greatest number.”
Yari Writes Senators-elect, Insists on Contesting for Senate Presidency
In a related development, a former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari, has written to the Senators-elect on his ambition to contest the Senate Presidency, despite the selection of the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio as the party’s preferred candidate for Senate President,
In a congratulatory message to the senators-elect yesterday, Yari advised them to avoid religious, tribal, and ethnic sentiments in electing the senate president.
“I congratulate you all on your well-deserved victory at the polls. It is a testament to your popularity among your people and the confidence they have in you to deliver democracy dividends to them,” Yari said.
“You must therefore not disappoint them in any way because your actions, inactions, omissions, and commissions may affect them directly or indirectly.
“While in the senate, you should always be reminded that you are indebted to your constituencies and should work towards attracting development projects to your people.
“This, in the first instance, is the reason you are elected to serve, and this is why you need a senate president that is compassionate, honest, fair-minded, and result driven.
“This is the time to eschew religious, tribal, nepotic tendencies and ethnic sentiments in the choice of the president of the senate which is first among equals.
“As I continue to consult on my aspiration to serve you as your president of the senate, please accept the assurances of my highest esteem,” the governor explained.
