Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Assembly on Tuesday, some aspirants for the Senate Presidency and Speaker for the House of Representatives aspirants have continued to insist on contesting for the positions in open defiance of the zoning arrangement announced by the All Progressives Congress in early May.
The recalcitrant contestants said they would not step down for the party’s consensus aspirants for the two leadership positions.
To salvage the situation, President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Working Committee had been meeting with the aspirants and various interest groups but their pacification efforts had so far failed to yield the desired results.
The NWC had micro-zoned the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President seats to Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Jibrin Barau respectively.
But other aspirants like Senators Abdulaziz Yari, (Zamfara West); Osita Izunaso (Imo West), and Orji Kalu ( Abia North) have insisted that they would not step down for the party’s consensus candidate.
The lawmakers had insisted that the legislature would choose its leaders.
In the House, the APC leadership had also endorsed the member-elect representing Kaduna, Tajudeen Abbas, as Speaker, while the member-elect from South East, Benjamin Kalu, clinched the Deputy Speaker slot.
But the arrangement had sparked outrage from other aspirants and their supporters, with the party leadership under fire for not making wide consultations before making the announcement.
Consequently, seven of the aggrieved aspirants, now christened G-7, had threatened to revolt against the party position if the zoning formula was not reviewed.
Tinubu meets lawmakers
But worried by the utterances of the adamant contestants, President Bola Tinubu will Thursday (today) meet with the senators and the House members to address the issues threatening the power-sharing deal.
The meeting would be held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where the President and the party leadership are expected to make concessions to those opposed to the party’s choices of leaders for the 10th National Assembly.
Sources said the parley was to ensure synergy between the executive and the legislative arms.
A source said, “It is to tell them to toe the party line in the choice of leadership of the NASS. You already know the choice of a party for both Senate and Reps.”
The Director of Publicity for the APC, Bala Ibrahim, also confirmed the agenda for the meeting, saying the President had been trying to reach out to everyone crucial to the smooth running of his government.
He stated, “If you look at the leadership style Asiwaju is trying to bring in, you will discover he wants a government that will have the take of everyone. He has been meeting with virtually everyone that has a stake in the project Nigeria. He has met with different sectors and strata of the society since he came into power.’’
Speaking to The PUNCH on Wednesday, the Chief Press Secretary to Senator Orji Kalu, Emeka Nwala reiterated his principal’s position on not stepping down for Akpabio.
He said, “Senator Orji Kalu is in the race and is not stepping down for Senator Akpabio. His position has not changed on that.”
Nwala noted that his principal would attend today’s meeting with the President as a loyal party member.
On the issue of a consensus candidate, Kalu’s aide noted that talks were still ongoing, adding that the curtain would be drawn on consultations latest by Sunday.
He said, “We have a group and we are working with Senator Yari. By the weekend, we will agree on the consensus candidate. We are still in talks. Every aspirant aside from those handpicked is all meeting and in talks.”
‘Izunaso still contesting’
Similarly, a close source to Senator Izunaso noted that the party had reached out to the lawmaker with an invitation to a meeting.
The source stated that he wouldn’t know what his decision would be after the meeting but as of now the stance of the lawmaker is that he would be the next Senate President.
In the same vein, a Special adviser to Isunazo, Kehinde Olaosebikan, noted that his principal was not going back on his ambition to be the Senate President.
He started, “Senator Izunaso is not stepping down on his decision to be the Senate President, and by the grace of God he will be the next. He is in talks with Senator Yari but he isn’t considering the deputy senate president position. He is consulting as a group and the senators individually. Senator Izunaso is the next Senate President.”
Another strong contender for the Senate president position, Abdulaziz Yari, insisted that the 10th Assembly lawmakers were adamant about choosing their leaders.
Yari, who was represented by Abdul Ningi, a former deputy majority leader of the senate, and senator-elect representing Bauchi South, at a forum on Wednesday, stated that he was not interested in the APC choice of candidates, but insisted that democracy must take its true course in the next legislative dispensation.
