There is opposition as North-West supports Akpabio for Senate president

APC supporters in the North-Central region have protested over an alleged exclusion of the region from the 10th National Assembly’s leadership, which will take office on June 5.

The APC state chairmen in the North-West supported the decision of the national leadership of the party to appoint Senators Godswill Akpabio (South-South) and Barau Jibrin (North-West) to the positions of Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.

The reported APC leadership decision regarding the Senate presidency and the position of the House of Representatives Speaker, however, was roundly criticised by North-Central stakeholders in separate press conferences held in Abuja on Sunday.

Tajudeen Abbas (Kaduna) and Benjamin Kalu (Abia) would take over as the next House leaders, while Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Barau (Kano) were rumoured to have been chosen for the Senate positions.

Dominic Alancha, the Convener of the North Central APC Stakeholders, however, stated in his speech on Sunday in Abuja, “10th National Assembly: We Demand Justice, Equity and Fairness for North Central Zone,” “We are forced to register our disappointment and to protest the decision of the APC leadership to zone two presiding positions, Deputy Senate President and Speaker in the 10th National Assembly in favour of the North-West to the total exclusion of the North-C.”

“Having won the 2023 presidential elections legitimately, we expect the APC leadership to be guided by the principles of justice and fairness in allocating leadership positions in the parliament. We had assumed that factors like commitment to the success of the party, contribution level, and the requirement for fairness, equity, and justice to all would guide the decision.”

The stakeholders stated that they were against the idea of allocating the Speaker of the House of Representatives position to the North-West zone because it would imply unfairness, undue favouritism, and the marginalisation of other zones.

In a communiqué released at the conclusion of an emergency meeting later on Sunday, the Forum of North-Central Former House of Representatives Members in the APC criticised the exclusion of the region.

Participants protest exclusion.

The group claimed in a communiqué titled “Need for Justice and Equity in Allocating Key Offices in the National Assembly” that the stance it had taken on the issue was in the best interests of the incoming Tinubu-led administration and for the overall welfare of Nigeria.

Idris Yakubu, a member of the Fourth Assembly who spoke on behalf of others, responded that the stakeholders had the duty to warn the party and Tinubu of the “dangers ahead if they decide to continue in their folly of doing what we heard they are thinking of doing.” This was in response to the question of whether aspirants from the North-Central should adhere to the APC zoning plan or fight for the right of the zone.

However, the APC chairmen in the North-West praised Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the party’s national leadership for their willingness to help the nation out of its socioeconomic binds by selecting Akpabio and Barau.

The APC chairmen who backed the Akpabio-Barau ticket also praised the President-Elect as impartial and detribalized as he prepared to assume the presidency on May 29.

The Jigawa State Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Aminu Sani, spoke on behalf of his colleagues in Kano on Sunday and praised the President-Elect for his maturity and patriotism, saying that this would change the country’s perception of ethnoreligious politics.

Only the Zamfara State APC chairman missed the meeting out of the seven states in the zone. Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Sokoto states were represented by those in attendance.

Sani stated that he and his fellow candidates believed the Akpabio-Barau ticket would result in effective leadership for the 10th National Assembly who would work tirelessly for the advancement of Nigeria.

“Barau Jibrin, for instance, is a man of integrity who has never been found wanting in all his national life and who is someone who is focused, so his decision to withdraw his ambition and accept to be Deputy Senate President clearly shows that he is a level-headed person and as such, he deserves praise,” Sani said.

The newly elected Senators were therefore urged by the North-West APC chairmen to support the choice of the President-Elect and the APC national leadership without animosity or disagreement so that Nigeria would have leaders who understand themselves and are willing to set aside their personal feelings for the sake of national development.

Defenders of Constitutional Democracy, a different group, applauded Tinubu and the APC leadership for supporting Abbas for the position of Speaker of the 10th House and argued that the North-West deserved to benefit from their dedication to the party.

In a statement titled “10th NASS Speakership: Group Hails Tinubu, APC’s Choice of Abass Tajudeen…Says North-West Deserves Reward for Loyalty, Hard Work,” the DCD convener Aliyu Abdullahi and the director of contact and mobilisation Chukwuma Okoro made the commendation.

According to the DCD, Abbas’ home region of the North-West, which received the highest percentage of votes for the APC in the presidential vote, deserved to “be rewarded with the Number Four position in the country.”

But on Sunday, the North-West Progressives Forum insisted that Abdulaziz Yari, a former chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the former governor of Zamfara State, be elected as the next president of the Senate.

The forum argued that the reported zoning plan was still invalid and that neither the APC nor Tinubu had made any official statements regarding it.

Nasir Dambatta, the group’s convener, stated during a press conference on Sunday in Kaduna that there was no justification for allowing the South-South zone to claim the Senate Presidency since the presidency had been awarded to the South-West.

To avoid the mistakes of 2015, Renewed Hope Professionals, another pressure group within the APC, urged Tinubu to remain impartial during the election for the 10th Assembly’s leadership positions on Sunday.

The RHP’s National Coordinator, Kinu Kabirwa, issued the warning in an Abuja statement that we were able to obtain. He said that the president-elect’s neutrality was required because “the very cornerstone of a healthy democracy is the freedom of choice” and that “the imposition of candidates by those in positions of authority has led to a legitimacy crisis in the country since the return to democracy in 1999.”

Despite rumours of the APC’s zoning plan, a front-runner for the position of Speaker of the House, Aliyu Betara (APC/Borno), is scheduled to formally announce his candidature on Monday (today).

Amid reports of zoning against the North-Central region that Yusuf Gagdi represents, from Plateau State, he went ahead and declared for Speaker on Friday.

Meeting of NWC.

APC’s National Working Committee will hold a significant meeting on Monday to wrap up discussions on the leadership positions for the National Assembly, it was learned on Sunday.