Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip, has informed the NWC and 108 senators-elect of his desire to lead the Senate.

This was stated in a statement released yesterday in Abuja by the Chief Whip of the Senate’s Media Office.

He, however, denied the rumor that he has received the support of incoming South East senators. He claimed that the South East senators-elect had not endorsed any candidates and had only come together to make a demand of the party and the President-elect.

In the letters he personally signed and sent to each NWC member and senator-elect, Kalu stated that he was applying for the position with honesty, humility, and sincerity.

He explained that the one month he spent mourning his late wife, Ifeoma, was the reason for his seeming inactivity in the race for the senate presidency.

The legislative agenda for Kalu, which has six priorities including economic growth and reform, constitutional and electoral reform, national security, improved social conditions and welfare, an effective and efficient National Assembly, and international influence, is attached to the letters of intent. The former governor of Abia vowed to support and uphold the constitution as well as promote friendly and cordial ties between the executive and judicial branches.

“Warm greetings and those of the Abia North Senatorial zone,” the letter began, “I bring you with a deep sense of joy and humility. My election as the senator representing Abia North at this pivotal juncture in our beloved country’s history entails a plethora of duties, chief among them the creation of quality legislation for the benefit of our citizens’ well-being. We need capable leaders to steer the 10th Senate’s affairs if we are to succeed in achieving these admirable objectives. The 10th Session of the Senate will need men and women in leadership positions who have a wealth of shared vision, the ability to build consensus, charisma, credibility, and pragmatism. For this reason, I humbly write to officially express my interest in being chosen as the next Senate President. With sincerity, humility, and candor, I offer to help you and the Nigerian people.

“Wisdom and experience gained over the years in the management of human and material resources are the biggest assets I bring to the table. I commit to serving you, advancing and defending the party’s principles and the constitution, and fostering friendly relations between the party, the executive branch, and the judiciary. One thing is for certain, and that is that if we work together in harmony, love, and respect, we can truly move Nigeria to the next level of peace, development, and progress.

Micro-zoning by APC encounters obstacles

The Parliamentary Advocacy Network (PAN Nigeria) has, in the meantime, denounced what it called executive irresponsibility and misadventures, as well as political shenanigans, in the selection of the National Assembly’s presiding officers.

The group, which is biased in favor of the independence of the national and state Houses of Assembly, observed with dismay how what should have been a straightforward, smooth, and harmless parliamentary process is being permitted to inflame the country’s political system in a way that is reminiscent of the days and weeks leading up to the February 25 and March 18 general elections.

This was said at an urgent meeting in Abuja to discuss matters of national concern, particularly the choice of presiding officers for the National Assembly by the incoming Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

The Network stated in a statement signed by its national coordinator Sunny Anderson Osiebe, national secretary Fred Itua, and national publicity secretary Nkem Anyata-Lafia that it had “noted the widening and dangerous predilection to what appears to be a budding and rising incidence in executive interference and rascality in the activities of the National Assembly, which we perceive deeply as a misconception of what in political parlance is, usually, termed as lobbying.”

We want to let Nigerians know that the legislature is one of the three branches of government, whose independence is protected by our Constitution and the fundamentals of democratic governance. We condemn this oppressive attempt to steer the incoming 10th National Assembly in the direction of a particular mindset.

“The above fact, therefore, compels the need for Nigerians of all tongues and creeds to rise in unison and condemn the aforementioned activities in order to nip in the bud the general tendency by members of the executive and their powerful individual agents of coerciveness to take over the legislative activities in the emerging 10th National Assembly,” the statement reads.

•Ex-senators support aspirant 72 retired senators have endorsed Godswill Akpabio, a former minister of Niger Delta affairs, for the position of Senate President.

Basheer Lado, a former senator from Kano Central, spoke at a press conference in Abuja yesterday on behalf of the ex-senators. He said that in the interest of fairness and equity, Akpabio should be zoned to the South South and given the number three position.

Lado, the group’s convener, suggested that Barau Jibrin, a senator for Kano North and a potential candidate for senate president, be given the position of deputy senate president.

•Yari’s backers downplay support

The 72 senators from the Second to Fourth Republics who are not currently in office have come under fire from the Good Governance Initiative (GGI), a group supporting Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, for supporting Senator Akpabio and calling for the resignation of other presidential candidates. Since many of the group’s members had previously fought for the independence of the legislature when it suited their interests, the pro-Yari group claimed that the call amounted to double standards.

In response to Akpabio’s endorsement, its president, Kunle Sanusi, stated that Yari would continue to run in order to fend off the conspiracy against him.

“Senator Godswill Akpabio was a member of the PDP Senators who voted for a Senate president in 2015 to uphold the legislative branch’s independence. Now that he has changed, he prefers to be hand-selected rather than winning a democratic election. That indicates the type of Senate President they intend to appoint to the 10th National Assembly, according to Sanusi.

The Akure Airport will become an aerotropolis thanks to agreements reached by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria and Ala Resort Limited.

This was said by the resort’s chief executive officer, Mr. Moyosola Niran-Oladunni, on Monday in Akure at a press conference to announce the project’s inauguration on Tuesday.

According to Niran-Oladunni, the project will be officially launched when FAAN and the resort management sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

A metropolis that has grown inside and outside of an airport is known as an aerotropolis. It entails the creation of a city centered around an airport, with commercial, educational, entertainment, healthcare, and hospitality centers surrounding it.

According to Niran-Oladunni, the business was bringing ideas that would be valuable to the state.

According to him, the aerotropolis, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, would center people’s lives around the aviation sector.

Niran-Oladunni claims that since 2017—the year after experts were asked to evaluate the airport’s suitability for the project—the resort has been making progress on the aerotropolis.

He said the project, which would be built in institutional, industrial, commercial, and agricultural phases, had received FAAN approval.

He claimed that the aerotropolis would feature an institutional area that would house a sports academy that could house any sports team, built by the Emirate Foundation, and a medical facility that would be constructed by a US company.

Additionally, the industrial zone would allow for the assembly and production of all building materials within its borders.

The airport authority would activate the cargo shed in the airport, Niran-Oladunni continued, adding that the aerotropolis has the potential to catalyze the cargo business in the airport.

He revealed that the aerotropolis would employ 14,000 skilled workers, with the infrastructure facilities costing N56 billion.

He claims that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Ala Resort Limited are working together to develop the project as a public-private partnership.

“Ala Resort and Aerotropolis will be a large-scale development, with aviation serving as the primary motivator and guiding principle. It will be surrounded by complementary projects for commercial, educational, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, and light industrial centers.

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to perform the ground-breaking, assisted by the Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr. Hycinth Ngwu, General Manager, Business Development, FAAN Headquarters, said the choice was based on a public-private partnership aimed at creating an aerotropolis in the airport.

Ngwu gave his word that the project would go as planned and that Akure Airport would completely change how the authority generates income.

“Supporting the project is in the best interests of all parties involved. It will broaden the state and local governments’ sources of revenue.

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“The majority of the employees will undoubtedly be from the area. They ought to back it because it will contribute to their success.

“This is something we want to do in other airports. We began in Akure because, until recently, Abuja Airport had the largest land mass there, he explained.

Mrs. Lynda Ezike, the airport manager in Akure, assured that the management and staff of the airport were eager and prepared to support the unprecedented development mega project that was proposed for the airport.

“We are ready to support Ala Resort Ltd in ensuring the success of this mega project, which is for the betterment of all stakeholders,” she said.