Senate Presidency: Tinubu rejects APC NWC push for South-South

…insists zoning should be to South as APC senators-elect root for Kalu

By Tunde Opalana

As geopolitical zones in the southern part of the country clamour that the ruling All progressives Congress (APC), zone the Senate President position to them, indications have emerged that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu might have rejected overture by south south loyalists to lobby the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

This insinuation emerged during Wednesday’s meeting the president-elect, Tinubu, held with the leadership of the APC and some National Assembly members over the zoning of the leadership of the incoming 10th National Assembly.

The Daily Times gathered that Tinubu must have outrightly rejected proposals made by some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators for the Senate Presidency to be zoned to the South-South.

It was further learnt that Tinubu told the meeting that he was only disposed to having the number three office zoned to the South and not any particular zone.

A competent source told this medium that Tinubu insisted that according to the party’s standing principle, zoning of the Senate Presidency goes to the Southern region and not to any of three geopolitical zones in the area, in particular.

Tinubu was quoted to have said that it was wrong to propose zoning the post of Senate President to South-South only.

The President- elect said zoning the post to the South will give all the qualified aspirants from South East and South-South to go into a fair contest in which elected senators across party lines make their choice, in a manner in which APC delegates picked the presidential candidate of the party prior to the election.

Tinubu reportedly warned chieftains at the meeting to avoid a controversy that would cause a crisis in the party, directing the party stakeholders to go back and amend its recommendations to be the zoning of Senate President to the South.

He reiterated his preference for fairness, equity, and religious and regional balancing as his benchmark for the constitution of the National Assembly leadership.

Competent sources revealed elements around Senator Godswill Akpabio had infiltrated the APC NWC to influence members to push for the micro-zoning of the office of Senate President to the South-South.

The game plan of the Akpabio camp, it was gathered, was that if this scales through, the Akwa Ibom senator, being the only ranking APC senator from the zone, will become the sole candidate.

An impeccable source privy to the meeting said: “the plot to have a sole South-South candidate by zoning the office to the zone failed flat with President-elect, who, in his wisdom, rejected pressures by some members of the party leadership and the Southwest senators for the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South-South.

“There’s no truth in all that was reported in the media that the President and the NWC have settled for South-South. The President insisted that the position should be zoned to the South region.”

Further dismissing the claim, a senator-elect who pleaded anonymity, stated that contrary to the claim of the three senators from the South West, the majority of elected lawmakers from the zone and other senators have queued behind the current Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who hails from the South East geopolitical zone.

He said: “the three senators from South West lied to the president-elect Tuesday night that all of them from the zone were supporting Akpabio for Senate President, but Asiwaju couldn’t be fooled. He cross-checked the claim by reaching out to the other senators-elect only to discover it was untrue.

“As South-westerners, we have a good relationship with all Nigerians and these three senators cannot speak for us. They are not our leaders and cannot take South West senators for granted. Our leader is a former governor who is also a senator.

“For us, we have resolved to do the right thing for the country since it’s the only way Asiwaju (president-elect) can succeed as president. We have chosen to support fairness and justice as this country is built on a tripod – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

READ ALSO: Zamfara district head kidnapped in his residence

“We are happy that the president-elect did not listen to them because he is not petty. He likes fairness and he wants to do the right thing. The 12 senators from the South West already have a preferred candidate. We have 11 senators and one ranking senator who have endorsed Senator Orji Uzor Kalu for president and Senator Sani Musa for Deputy Senate President.

“The northern senators and southern senators believe in the leadership of these two senators and there is no going back. The good news is that Asiwaju has a strong character and will stand firm on his personal convictions.”