President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
By Our Reporter
Fresh details have emerged from Wednesday’s meeting among President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and National Assembly members.
A report by POLITICS NIGERIA said that the meeting was held to discuss the zoning of the leadership of the incoming 10th National Assembly.
It quoted sources at the meeting to have said that Tinubu rejected proposals from some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators who suggested that the Senate Presidency should be micro-zoned to the South-South.
Tinubu reportedly stated that he was only in favour of the number three office being zoned to the South, rather than any specific zone.
Tinubu argued that since the APC stood for zoning the presidency to the South and not to any particular zone, it would be wrong to propose zoning the post of Senate President to the South-South only.
He suggested that zoning the post to the South would allow all qualified aspirants from the South East and South-South to enter a fair contest for senators to make their choice, just like APC delegates picked the presidential candidate of the party prior to the election.
The president-elect emphasised the importance of fairness, equity, and regional and religious balancing in the constitution of the National Assembly leadership, in order to avoid a controversy that could cause a crisis in the party.
Sources also said that 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 aim of the Akpabio camp was reportedly to make the Akwa Ibom senator the sole candidate for the position.
An impeccable source privy to the meeting said: “The plot to have a sole South-South candidate by zoning the office to the zone fell 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.”
