Senate Presidency: Cracks in APC as members disagree over zoning arrangement

The endorsement of former minority senate leader and ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio by the ruling All Progressives Congress for the position of the President of the Senate for the 10th National Assembly is causing rancour in the party. 

Many members of the party vying for the role have faulted and rejected the party’s position on the upcoming national assembly leadership. 

On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, aggrieved aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives stormed the party’s headquarters in Abuja to demand fresh zoning formula. 

Recently, the National Working Committee of the ruling party endorsed Akpabio from the South-South and Senator Barau Jibrin from the North-West as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively. 

The party also endorsed Tajudeen Abass from the North-West and Benjamin Kalu from the South-East as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

This, however, did not go down well with some members of the party as the development continues to generate rancour within the party and among lawmakers. 

Senator Izunaso cautions APC

One of the aspirants for Senate Presidency, Senator Osita Izunaso, has cautioned the leadership of the party saying the zoning arrangement has created tension in the party.

He advised the party to come up with a different arrangement that would foster cohesion among members. 

While speaking at a media parley in Abuja on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the senator from Imo State said he is the most suitable candidate for the office of the President of the Senate. 

He said, “If you want to go with the Not-Too-Young Act, one of the greatest achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, I am the youngest of all the aspirants, the face of the youths, representing the most agitated demography in the country today. It is me. I am indeed the best and the next person for Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Emi Lokan”.

Akeredolu condemns zoning arrangement

Also condemning the zoning arrangement, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State pointed out the lopsidedness in the nominations for the 10 national assembly leadership.

In a statement he issued on Wednesday, the governor said the zoning formula represented “early signs of steps aimed at attempts to cabin the hard-earned Presidency for our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu by a few individuals with eyes on ‘Aso Rock power buttons.”

Akeredolu drew attention to the allocation of two positions to the North-West while the North-Central got none. 

The statement reads in part, “It is trite to aver that it stands logic on the head that one geo-political zone, North-West in this regard, will be favoured with two presiding officers positions out of four while North-Central suffers the consequences for its innocence and shrewd loyalty by having none.

“It is an insidious permutation that North-East will be deprived in the face of the unsavoury generosity dispensed through two slots to a particular geo-political zone. It is self-repudiating for one to argue, therefore, that the Speaker of the House of Representatives cannot also emerge from the North-East.

He added that the move to zone the national assembly leadership on the behest of interested personalities with perceived closeness to the President-elect is dangerous for the party.

Describing the development as an ‘unworkable arrangement’, Akeredolu said the zoning formula reinforced injustice and enhances inequity.

North Central rejects APC’s zoning formula

In the same vein, lawmakers from the North Central have kicked against the zoning formula that excluded their region from the leadership of the next national assembly. 

In a letter to the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, the lawmakers said their rights and privileges were denied despite their region playing a role in the political stability of the country. 

The letter reads in part, “That the North Central as a geopolitical zone in Nigeria has paid its dues in the political stability of the country and shall continue to do so, but where we see an open denial of our rights and privileges, we will have no option than to voice out in the interest of the zone and its people we represent.

“It is pertinent to know that we are fully committed to supporting the incoming administration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a better Nigeria. This can only happen if fairness, equity and justice are ensured. It is on record that the North-Central gave the APC 41 per cent of her votes to victory, hence we equally deserve as others.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to appease the North-Central region, the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly expressed his preference to pick his Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) from the region.