SGF: Group advises N’Central lawmakers to drop N’Assembly leadership ambition

Following the appointment of Senator George Akume as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, three lawmakers from the North Central region who are running for leadership positions in the National Assembly have been urged to withdraw from the race for those positions. Senator Akume is a former Governor of Benue State and is currently serving in the role.

Senator Sani Musa, who wants to be Deputy Senate President, Idris Wase, who is the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Yusuf Gagdi, who are both vying for the Speaker’s position, are the three North Central lawmakers who are running for leadership positions in the National Assembly. Sani Musa is a senator. Idris Wase is the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

On Friday, President Bola Tinubu announced the selection of Akume from Benue to serve as the SGF.

The appointment came several weeks after a protest was lodged by the North Central region against the zoning of the position of Deputy Senate President and the position of Speaker to the North West geopolitical zone.

A group known as the North Central Progressive For Development issued a statement over the weekend praising Tinubu’s selection of Akume and claiming that the situation in the North Central had been resolved.

The following is an excerpt from a statement that was issued by the NCPFD and signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim Tajo: “To the glory of God, our zone now has two key figures in the government. In addition to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, another prominent leader from our zone, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of the state of Nasarawa, has served as the National Chairman of our wonderful party, the All Progressives Congress, for the past 15 months.

“While Senator Adamu directs the operations of our party through the National Working Committee, the brand-new Special Guidance and Security Minister is the nerve center of Tinubu’s administration. Therefore, President Tinubu has made it possible for those of us living in the North Central geopolitical zone to dry our eyes.

“A few weeks ago, when the positions of the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were zoned by the President and the leadership of our great party to the North-West geopolitical zone, we protested against the sidelining of the North Central and appealed for the review of the zoning arrangement given our contributions to the Tinubu presidency during the presidential election,” said one of the protesters.

As a result, the group issued the following statement: “For our three brothers, who are competing for the leadership of the National Assembly, the time has come for them to withdraw from the race in accordance with the decision of the president and our party.” Don’t be a disturbance, things are going very well for us.