failure Congress of all progressives (APC) and the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, have come under fire over the proposed zoning arrangement for the leadership of the National Assembly.
Two groups on Sunday rejected the alleged adoption of a zoning agreement by the president-elect and the party, saying it is a clear marginalization of the north-central region.
They called for the House Speaker’s zoning review in particular.
Tinubu reportedly endorsed Godswill Akpabio (south-south) and Barau Jibrin (north-west) for president and senate deputy respectively.
He also reportedly settled for Tajudeen Abbas (northwest) and Ben Kalu (southeast) as president and vice president respectively.
The reported adoption of the four applicants leaves out the north-central zone in the zoning arrangement.
No fewer than three applicants from the area have shown interest in the House Speaker position. They are incumbent Vice President Idris Wase and Yusuf Gagdi, both from Plateau State and Olatunji Raheem, a lawmaker from Kwara State.
Tinubu and the party have yet to officially announce this arrangement, which is already generating reactions, particularly from the center-north.
A group of former lawmakers from the region on Sunday rejected the proposed zoning of the Senate president and vice president of the Northwest.
They warned that such an arrangement will lead to the marginalization of the center-north.
They specifically kicked against the zoning of the speaker’s position to the northwest.
Idris Yakuku, a former member of the Fourth Assembly (1999-2003), who spoke on behalf of the group, argued that the proposed zoning fix gives the Northwest more than it deserves.
“Reports reaching us indicate that the Senate President post in the 10th National Assembly has been divided into South-South geopolitical zones, while the Senate Vice President post would go to the Northwest zone.
“We noted that when this position was made public, it was accepted with equanimity and ease by stakeholders across the country due to the inclusion of other areas not yet captured in the highest hierarchy of government in the next administration.
“But to our utter surprise and dismay, we learned that the House Speaker position has also been zoned in the Northwest while the Vice President position is still being considered.
“A region is given more than its fair share if this unbalanced model of giving the deputy presidency and the presidency of the Senate to the Northwest is implemented,” he said.
Yakubu, who was flanked by a dozen former lawmakers, urged the president-elect to review the deal or the region could be forced to consider other alternatives.
He also called for the intervention of the party president, Abdulahi Adamu, who is from the center-north.
The central-north zone surpassed the northwest in the polls
The former deputy also reminded Mr. Tinubu of the contribution of the north-central geopolitical zone, noting that the zone surpassed the northwest zone.
“Worse still, out of seven states, the APC presidential candidate won only three northwestern states, losing significant numbers in swing states like Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Katsina, while in the north-central he won overwhelmingly on his swing. Niger, Benue and Kogi states.
“Most worrying is the fact that it is Kaduna State, where the APC performed dismal by losing all three Senate seats and 11 out of 16 House of Representatives seats up for Speaker’s seat.” , said.
Yakubu claimed that the proposed arrangement may not be from the president-elect, but from some people around him who want to impose themselves on their cronies.
Pro-Wase Group demands the intervention of APC NEC
Meanwhile, a group that supports Wase in the race has called for the intervention of the National Executive Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to review the proposed template for the zoning of National Assembly presidents.
The group, under the aegis of north-central APC stakeholders, made the call on Sunday during a separate press conference in Abuja.
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They stated that there are indications that the party’s CNE, the party’s highest decision-making body, will meet in the coming days and they hope that the body will intervene.
Dominic Alancha, speaking on behalf of the group, said the ruling party risks repeating the Eighth Assembly, where Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara successfully revolted against the party’s elections.
However, they stated that the 2015 option has not been considered because consultations are ongoing.
The group argued that the Northwest has not done enough to justify taking two key positions at the expense of the Center-North.
“The APC failed to secure the key states in the northwest such as Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto in the presidential elections, which usually give the deciding votes and only Zamfara and Jigawa of the seven zone states win.
“The picture is even worse with the parliamentary elections where the APC lost majority seats in Kano with the NNPP eliminating 18 of the 24 House seats in the state while in Kaduna, the APC lost all three senatorial seats and 11 of the seats. the 16 seats in the House of Representatives to the PPD,” he said.
The group noted that the reported zoning deal appears to be a “deliberate act of provocation to the north-central area that has contributed both to the success of the APC as a party and to the victory of president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. ”
Harvest of applicants
So far, there are 11 candidates in the race for the presidency of the Chamber.
Other contenders for the position include Sada Soli (Katsina), Muktar Betara (Borno), Abubakar Makki (Jigawa), Aminu Jaji (APC, Zamfara), Ado Doguwa (Kano) and Miriam Onuoha (Imo).
On Saturday, Gagdi officially joined the race and called for zoning of the post in the center-north, while Muktar Betara, a challenger from Borno state, will declare his intention on Monday.