Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
There are strong indications that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, were not comfortable with the current zoning arrangements announced by the party for the 10th National Assembly presiding officers’ positions.
Multiple sources told THISDAY in Abuja on Tuesday that the duo have so far rejected all entreaties from the strategists of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the anointed candidates for the various presiding officers’ positions to accept the zoning arrangements.
While Lawan was said to have promised that he would never support Godswill Akpabio, the endorsed candidate of the APC for Senate President, Adamu was not happy that the North Central was left out in the sharing of presiding offices in the 10th Assembly.
Adamu had on some occasions complained that his North Central zone was left with nothing from the National Assembly despite the fact that he remained the national chairman of APC.
The APC National Chairman’s dislike for the party’s zoning arrangement came to fore again yesterday when some lawmakers led by Tajudeen Abbas paid the party’s NWC a visit.
Adamu noted during the visit said Abbas was only one among many other aspirants contesting for speaker and noted that election for the speakership would take place.
As for Lawan, he is reported to be more comfortable with Orji Kalu, who is his closest ally, to occupy the position of the Senate President with Abdulaziz Yari as the Deputy Senate President. Kalu was his main backer during the presidential primaries of the APC in June last year.
It was learnt that it was the APC National Chairman’s disposition to the issue that has emboldened members of the G7 speakership aspirants for the 10th House of Representatives and the likes of Abdulaziz Yari in the Senate.
