Stakeholders of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) from the country’s North-Central have fought against their exemption from the zoning of positions as campaigning and lobbying for key positions of the 10th National Assembly intensify.
According to reports, Godswill Akpabio (South-South) and Senator Barau Jibrin (North-West) will serve as the Senate’s president and vice president, respectively. Tajudeen Abbas (Kaduna) and Benjamin Kalu (Abia) will succeed them as the House’s leaders.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that in their agitations, the APC North-Central stakeholders, which include lawmakers, condemned the APC’s decision on the Senate presidency and the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Convener of the North Central APC Stakeholders, Dominic Alancha, in his address titled ‘10th National Assembly: We Demand Justice, Equity and Fairness for North Central Zone’, in Abuja on Sunday, said, “We are constrained 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-Central and other zones in the country.
“Having won the 2023 presidential elections fair and square, we expect the leadership of the APC to be guided by the principle of justice and fairness in zoning leadership positions in the parliament, and had thought that factors like commitment to the success of the party, level of contributions and the need for fairness, equity and justice.”
In a similar development, another group of stakeholders from the region kicked against the plan to zone the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives to the North-West because that would imply “undue favouritism, lack of fairness and the marginalisation of other zones.”
The second group in a communiqué titled ‘Need for Justice and Equity in Allocating Key Offices in the National Assembly,’ told The Punch, that the position it had taken on the matter was in the best interest of the incoming Tinubu-led administration and for the greater good of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of others in the group about them accepting the APC zoning or fighting back, a member of the fourth Assembly, Idris Yakubu explained that the party and Tinubu should be aware of the “dangers ahead if they decide to continue in their folly of doing what we heard they are thinking of doing.”