Aspirants hoping to occupy leadership positions in the two chambers of the National Assembly have intensified lobbying their colleagues and other stakeholders, including the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Progressive Governors’ Forum even as Wednesday’s planned meeting of the ruling party’s National Working Committee is expected to seal their fate.
It was gathered that the APC and the PGF might eventually agree to zone the Senate presidency to either the South-East or the South-South.
While the body language and nocturnal meetings held by the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, may have suggested that a former Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, is his anointed candidate, some members of the NWC prefer an aspirant from the South-East for the sake of equity.
The position of the NWC is shared by the Conference of the APC Local Government Party Chairmen of Nigeria, which suggested that the Senate presidency be zoned to the South-East geographical zone in the interest of fairness and national cohesion.
The National Chairman of the forum, Matthew Msughter, argued that it took the stance after consulting with critical stakeholders in the overall interest of the party and the country.
He stated, “As a forum of grassroots politicians who have always been with the people, we have widely consulted and have come to the realisation that the general wishes of Nigerians are that leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly should be zoned and shared among the geopolitical zones in the country.
“Standing on the wishes of the people, who we represent, we hereby passionately appeal to the leadership of our great party, the All Progressives Congress; that is, the National Working Committee, National Executive Committee, national caucus, as well as critical stakeholders of our great party, in the interest of equity, justice, fairness, unity and inclusiveness, to share and zone leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly as follows; Senate President, South-East; Deputy Senate President, North-Central; Speaker of the House of Representatives, North-West; and Deputy Speaker, South-South.”
While Akpabio seems to be the only beacon from the South-South, there are at least three aspirants jostling for the Senate presidency from the South-East.
They are the senator-elect representing Imo West, Osita Izunaso, Orji Kalu (Abia North) and Patrick Ndubueze (Imo North).
Feelers from the APC indicated that quite a number of governors and lawmakers were not in support of Kalu’s candidacy.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, on the other hand, may have trouble deciding who to opt for among Izunaso and Ndubueze, his two trusted allies.
Other aspirants jostling for the number one office in the Red chamber include a former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau; Sani Musa (Niger East) and the incumbent Senate President, Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North).
Reports said the APC governors were divided over the zoning arrangement for the Senate president.
A source in the camp of the PGF told one of our correspondents, “Some northern governors are not in support of the planned zoning and believe that the race should be thrown open just as the APC did in the build-up to the presidential primary that produced Tinubu.
“In fact, they contend that if that option cannot be explored, the pendulum should be allowed to swing in favour of the North-West. They hinged their conviction on the fact that it was actually the bulk of votes from the region that gave Tinubu victory.”
Meanwhile, Kalu has denied reports of him joining forces with the Peoples Democratic Party, describing them as false.
“I am the best among all the other candidates. I have the capacity to unite Nigeria and I am the best to work with our president-elect for the best interest of Nigeria,” Kalu said.
NWC members react
However, the National Vice Chairman of the APC for the North-West, Malam Salihu Lukman, called on northern senators to step down from the race.
The Kaduna politician stated that it would be unfortunate to have Yari, Barau, Musa or any other northern Muslim lawmaker emerge as the next Senate president at a time the APC was seeking to balance the Muslim-Muslim ticket that produced Tinubu and the Vice-President-elect, Kashim Shettima.
A fellow NWC member and National Vice Chairman, South-East, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, however expressed reservation about the call, saying it did not represent the stance of the party’s leadership.
Arodiogbu stated that much as Lukman’s demand favoured the South-East, it was not enough to unilaterally take such a decision without recourse to the collective position of the party.
The Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Chidi Duru, said, “As far as we know, my idea is for the South-East and the South-South to produce a Senate president for the country. And for our party and those who mean well for Nigeria, we will have to run an inclusive government that attends to the needs of all strata of society and sensibilities of the country.
“The leadership of the National Assembly as had been done before now will naturally come back to the South. And it will be opened to either of the South-South or the South-East to fill the position. That is the major currency and view within the rank and file of the APC leaders.”
Indications have emerged that the South-East may not have a candidate among the presiding officers of the federal parliament.
Top sources in the APC told one of our correspondents that though the zone had qualified members-elect aspiring for various positions in the Senate and the House of Representatives, the ruling party was considering the votes it got from the zones in the just concluded general elections.
Those who spoke to one of our correspondents on Saturday were among those who met with Tinubu at his temporal Defence House residence last week.
Tinubu is from Lagos in the South-West, while Shettima is from Borno State in the North-East.