Some northern aspirants for the leadership positions in the National Assembly have kicked against the planned zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to elect the presiding officers of the two chambers, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
THISDAY gathered that some aspirants from the North-west, North-central, and North-east are opposed to the zoning of the leadership positions in the National Assembly because the party did not zone its presidential ticket to any geopolitical zone.
Investigation however revealed that despite the opposition by the northern aspirants, the North-central may retain the position of the National Chairman of the party, just as the party may settle for the South-east or the South-south for the position of the Senate President.
At the moment, 30 senators had been re-elected among the 98 seats declared so far.
The APC has 57 Senators, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 29; Labour Party (LP) has six seats; the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has two; Social Democratic Party (SDP) has two; while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) have one senator each.
In the House of Representatives, the APC has 162 members-elect, the PDP has 102 seats; LP has 34 seats; NNPP has 18 seats; APGA has four seats while the SDP and African Democratic Congress (ADC) have two seats each.
Aspirants for the position of the 10th Senate presidency include the current Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan (North-east); Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East); Orji Uzor Kalu (South-east); Jibrin Barau (North-west); Godswill Akpabio (South-south); Ali Ndume (North-east); Abdul- Aziz Yari (North-west); Adams Oshiomhole (South-south); David Umahi (South-east) and Osita Izunaso (South-east).
At least, nine federal lawmakers had joined the race for the position of the Speaker, House of Representatives. They are Aliyu Betara (North-east); Aminu Sani Jaji (North-west); Idris Wase (North-central); Benjamin Kalu (South-east); Ado Doguwa (North-west); Yusuf Gagdi (North-central); Princess Mariam Onuoha (South-east); Makki Abubakar Yalleman (North-west); and Abdulraheem Olawuyi (North-central).
THISDAY gathered that the northern aspirants in both chambers are opposed to the planned zoning of these leadership positions by the party.
Indications that the aspirants from the north might not honour the zoning arrangements being planned by the APC leadership emerged during the week with new entrants into the race.
For instance, Senator Ndume and Barau, who are eyeing the Senate presidency, as well as Betara and Wase, who want to become the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, have said they would contest with or without the zoning arrangement.
Jibrin noted that the position of the Senate president requires experience and competence, not sentiments.
He said: “Legislature is a distinct arm of government that doesn’t work based on sentiments, it works on your ability to get the job done. It is the tradition all over the world and it is also stated there in our rule book and the rules are drafted from our constitutions.”
He argued that the Senate’s rule gives credence to seniority and experience above sentiments.
He said: “It is stated there in our standing rules that aspirations of elections for the seat of the Senate Presidency shall be in accordance with ranking.
“Among those who are running for the seat of the Senate Presidency, I am the most ranked senator.
“So, it’s constitutional and among those who are showing their intentions to run for the Senate Presidency, I am the most experienced,” he explained.
An aspirant for the position of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Muktar Betara vowed to fight on even if the position is not zoned to his North-east geopolitical region.
On his part, Betara in a statement by his campaign group, the Betara National Patriotic Mandate, said he was aware of “deft moves” by some influential leaders to zone the North-east out of the speakership race.
The statement was signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Mallam Maigari Al- Amin.
He said: “We are watching the events that are going on and we can see that some influential leaders are making deft moves to zone the North-east out of the speakership race.
“We hereby say that our principal, Betara, Insha Allah shall become the Speaker because nobody can cow us and even convince us to stop this project. We shall fight on and win whether the party zones to the North-east or not.”
THISDAY gathered that only Senator Sani Musa (Niger East) has so far pledged to step down and contest the position of the Deputy Senate President if the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC did not zone the Senate President position to his geopolitical zone.
Describing Nigeria as a secular nation, he stressed the need to ensure the balance between the two main religions in the country.
He noted that the tension that heralded the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the APC should be avoided in the race for the Senate Presidency.
He said: “For the exigencies of our time, looking at the volatile situation of what has generated the Muslim-Muslim ticket in this country, I am one person that believes in the secularity of one Nigeria.
“I am one person that believes that, for every reason, there should be given and taken in this country.
“We have lived with both Christians and Muslims. Some of us still have relatives that are still Christians and Muslims,” he added.
Chief Whip of the Senate, Kalu, who had declared that it was his turn to become the Senate President, being a ranking lawmaker from the South-east geopolitical zone, had also rejected the idea of having a Muslim as a Senate President, saying he would not be comfortable with such arrangement.
He said: “I will not be comfortable with a Muslim Senate President because this is a secular state.
“In a secular state, we need to accommodate interests, nations, and spread to be able to maintain the secularity of our country.
“To me, as I told you, people, the truth here before, that I believe in a Muslim-Muslim ticket, I would not believe in another Senate President being a Muslim. It will not augur well for the country,” Kalu added.
But on their part, Ndume, Jibrin, Wase, and Betara have argued that the best way to ensure competence, character, and experience in the choice of National Assembly leadership is to allow the ranking lawmakers to demonstrate their capacity by seeking votes directly from their colleagues instead of zoning the offices.
Most aspirants from the North are insisting on the tradition of the National Assembly, which gives the advantage to lawmakers serving their second or more terms to be elected as presiding officers.
Already, some of the aspirants have intensified efforts at lobbying their fellow senators-elect amidst allegations of financial inducement.
North-central May Retain National Chairmanship Slot as South-south, South-east Jostle for Senate Presidency
Meanwhile, despite the opposition by most aspirants from the North, the APC may retain the position of the national chairman to the North-central and zone the Senate president to the South-east or South-south.
THISDAY gathered that the position of the national chairman will be moved from Nasarawa State to Benue State, where a serving minister said to be an ally of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu is expected to clinch the position.
According to a member of the party’s NWC, who spoke to THISDAY in confidence, the position of the national secretary, currently occupied by Osun State in the South-west, will be moved to either the South-east or South-south.
“The incumbent national chairman could be given an ambassadorial position if he accepts, but certainly, he is just marking his time because he knows that there is no way he can retain his position since the President-elect and the vice president-elect are Muslims.
“It is a matter of time for the zoning to be officially brought to the notice of all”, the source explained, stating that the new zoning arrangement will also affect the office of the national secretary.
“As you know, the incumbent national secretary is from Osun State and in the South- west zone, where the President-elect is from. Therefore, the office has to be moved to either the South-east or South-south, depending on the political calculations of pundits seeking the office of the Senate President.”
The source said that if the office of the Senate president is zoned to the South-east, then the South- south will produce the secretary, and vice versa.
He ruled out the possibility of the North-west producing the Senate President due to the need for religious balancing.
“The person who has indicated interest to become the Senate president is well qualified, but on the account of religious balancing, he is out.
He argued that aspirants from the North-central region face the same challenge.
Asked whether the President-elect supports the national chairman emerging from the North-central, the source stated that “in actual sense, he is the person pushing for this candidate that is currently a serving minister.
“He pushed for him in 2015 for the office of the senate president and later supported his aspiration to become the national chairman in the last APC convention,” the source explained.
“If what is on the ground is sustained, the incumbent Deputy Speaker from Plateau State may emerge the Speaker, and the position of the Deputy Senate President may be ceded to the North-west,” he added.
He explained that if the proposed zoning plans are adopted, the office of the Deputy Speaker may come from any of the three zones in the South, particularly the South-west.
Chuks Okocha and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
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