Musa: I’m Ready to Sacrifice My Senate Presidency Bid on Religious Grounds

•Considers deputy senate president position

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

A frontline contender for the position of the 10th Senate Presidency, Senator Sani Musa, has expressed his willingness to sacrifice his ambition in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of Nigeria.

Musa, who is representing the Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, stated this on Monday, when he appeared on the Morning Show of Arise News Channel.

He said the only condition that could make him to consider the position of the Deputy Senate President was if a competent Christian aspirant, who is running for the office of Senate President convinced him to step down, with genuine reasons.

The senator, who will formally declared his intention to contest the Senate Presidency today (Tuesday), described Nigeria as a secular nation and stressed the need to ensure balance between the two main religion in the country.

He noted that the tension that heralded the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate and his running mate, should be avoided in the race for the Senate Presidency.

“For the exigencies of our time, looking at the volatile situation of what has generated the Muslim-Muslim ticket in this country, I am one person that believes in the secularity of one Nigeria. I am one person that believes that, for every reason, there should be give and take in this country.

“We have lived with both Christians and Muslims. Some of us still have relatives that are still Christians and Muslims. We have lived in a society, where there’s intermarriage; we have lived for so long. Our forefathers envisaged a country where we would all live together.

“I will not have any problem seeing a qualified, competent personality like me in the Senate,who has also presented himself for the office of the Senate President and asked me please to drop my ambition for him. I will do it.

“There is a position of Deputy Senate President, which also is a presiding officer in the National Assembly. I will be willing to do it if it’s going to be in the best interest of Nigerians and if it’s going to be in the best interest of the zone I am going to represent. There’s no commitment or sacrifice too much to make to keep the unity this country deserves,” he said

Musa, who is the Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, said the fact that the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was from the same geopolitical zone with him did not affect his emergence as a Presiding Officer of the red chamber.

He also said his personal relationship with the incumbent President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, could not affect his aspiration if the Yobe Senator decided to seek a second term in office.

“My aspiration has nothing to do with my personal relationship with anybody in the Senate. I am here to represent my constituency. By virtue of my aspiration, I am to represent the North Central. My relationship with the Senat President is a respected one. I respect him and I will continue to respect him,” he said.