By Aliyu Abdulwahid
The choice of former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, for the Presidency of the 10th Senate is generating serious opposition.
According to reports, the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, may have settled for Akpabio and Tajudeen Abbas, as President and Speaker of the 10th Senate and House of Representatives respectively.
Theanalyst.ng, earlier reported that the decision was arrived at, during a meeting of the President-elect and select members of the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC, at the Defence House, Abuja.
However, in a seeming opposition against Akpabio, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), on Sunday, insisted the Northwest be allowed to produce the next Senate President.
A Coalition of Northern groups had endorsed Akpabio for the Senate Presidency, saying he was best suited for the position.
But the ACF in a statement signed by the leader of the Arewa Community in Southern Nigeria, Musa Saidu, dissociated itself from the endorsement.
According to Saidu, endorsing Akpabio for the Senate Presidency would spell doom for Northern Nigeria.
“We hereby dissociate ourselves from the endorsement of Sen. Godswill Akpabio for the Senate Presidency by a coalition of Northern groups.
“The Coalition is not speaking for the North, it is just speaking for itself. No true Northern group will want to endorse Akpabio for a sensitive position like that of Senate President because he is not friendly with the North.
“We are the people who know Akpabio, because we are resident in the South, we know those who are friendly with the Northern people and Akpabio is actually not one of them”, he said, adding that the coalition must have made the endorsement out of ignorance.
“I want to condemn the endorsement in its entity because it was done out of ignorance. It is also possible that the groups were given some inducement to endorse Akpabio.
“I want to say that the Northern people are not beggars that will be endorsing people who are not friendly with them because of inducement”, he said.
Saidu said the ACF would continue to fight for the speak against injustice in the country.
“Why should the All Progressives Congress (APC) be bent on zoning the 10th Senate Presidency to the South, when we have competent hands in the the North.
“The North-West gave the APC the largest votes in the Feb. 25 presidential election, why not consider somebody from the zone.
“I think it’s time for the party to reward the zone for the massive votes rather than start looking for somebody from the South as Senate President”, he said.
In another swift opposition, the South-East Senate Caucus has demanded that the All Progressives Congress (APC) zone the Senate presidency of the 10th Assembly to the South-East.
Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP-Anambra) disclosed the caucus’ position in a communique issued at the end of a meeting of the caucus on Sunday in Abuja.
The group also urged Tinubu to ensure that the position was zoned to the region.
According to the caucus, “The incoming administration of Tinubu must correct this anomaly by ensuring that the South-East is given the opportunity to produce the next Senate President.
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“The President-elect should be sensitive to the times in Nigeria and ensure the country continues to thrive on the part of equity, unity and fairness to the tripod of Nigeria (Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba) and the geopolitical zones.
“With the side-lining of the South-East from producing the Presidential candidates of the major political parties before the general elections, the only means through which the zone can be compensated and given a sense of belonging is for the zone to produce the next Senate President.
“This will restore confidence of the people from the South-East and South-South geo-political zones and indeed all Nigerians in the unity of the country.
“The APC must rise above primordial and political interest. It must also shun the ‘winner takes all syndrome’ and pursue ethno-religious inclusivity and a strong, virile, united, progressive, prosperous, equitable and just democratic nation.
“The South-East has been denied the chance of producing the president of Nigeria since 1966.
“The South-South has produced a president for six years and also had a Deputy Senate President in the outgoing administration. The only zone in the South that has not been favoured is the South-East.
“The South-West has a President, the North-East has a Vice-President. It is only just that the least position at the moment that can assuage the South-East is given the chance to be the President of the 10th Senate.
“We have collectively resolved to support South-East aspirants of the APC. “We remain committed and have since expanded negotiations with other well-meaning senators-elect to rally round the South-East to ensure that justice, fairness and unity of the country prevails.”
THEWILL reports that the APC has 59 senators-elect for the 10th Senate, while the opposition parties have 50 seats, in the 109 Upper Legislative House.
A breakdown of the opposition parties standing shows the PDP has 36, the LP has 8, the NNPP has 2 seats, the SDP with 2 seats and the YPP and APGA with 1 seat each.
