Senate Presidency: APC Senators-elect Polarised Along Regional, Religious Biases

*Lawan’s silence over rumoured ambition unsettles aspirants

Deji Elumoye and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

There appears to be a sharp disagreement among the 70 Senators-elect of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the criteria for the zoning of the leadership of the 10th Senate, THISDAY has learnt.
THISDAY gathered that while many of the Senators-elect are pushing for a Christian Senate President to emerge from the South-east or South-south, others are insisting that the position should be zoned to the North-west.
 This is coming as the refusal of the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan to confirm or deny his rumoured ambition to re-contest for the position has created anxiety among other aspirants.

THISDAY’s investigation revealed that two major issues, geopolitical zone and religious leaning of the prospective aspirants, have sharply divided both the re-elected and fresh APC Senators-elect.
It was learnt at the weekend that the APC Senators-elect, especially the first-time ones, are worried about the failure of the party’s Senators-elect to resolve the issue in the two meetings they held recently.

A ranking and re-elected Senator from the North-central zone confided in THISDAY that two meetings of APC Senators-elect were held recently in Abuja to work on a template to present to the party’s leadership as a guide to zoning the Senate leadership.
He said the two meetings ended in a stalemate with Senators-elect pushing different positions as requirements for those aspiring to lead the 10th Senate.
According to him, while some believed that since the South-west and North-east have produced President and Vice-President, respectively, it would not be out of place if the North-west is allowed to produce the Senate President.

He said those championing this position have started canvassing support for the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin from Kano State, and former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari.
Some other Senators-elect, he further explained, were of the view that for equity and fairness, the Senate President should come from either the South-east or the South-south for a Christian Senator to emerge to balance the same-faith ticket of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima.

Those in this camp are backing Senators-elect, Osita Izunaso, Orji Uzor Kalu, Godswill Akpabio, and Adams Oshiomhole for Senate President.
THISDAY further gathered that the APC Senators-elect are now waiting on the leadership of the party to wade into the matter by coming up with the zoning formula for the Senate Presidency.
“We are waiting on the leadership of APC to meet with the Senators-elect before formally coming up with the zone to produce the Senate President.”
The ranking senator expressed optimism that the President-elect, Tinubu will also meet with the legislators in the coming days once he returns from France this week.
He also stated that all the issues will be resolved so as not to give the opposition political parties led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) any room to usurp the leadership positions ahead of the June 2023 inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.

Lawan’s Silence over Rumoured Ambition Unsettles Aspirants

Meanwhile, the refusal of the President of the Senate, Lawan to confirm or deny his rumoured ambition to re-contest for the position has created anxiety among other aspirants.
Lawan, who is from the same geopolitical zone as the Vice-President-elect, Shettima, is rumoured to be making moves to retain his seat in the 10th Senate.
THISDAY gathered that the interview he granted to journalists covering the State House on Friday after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitr celebration, failed to douse the tension that his rumoured ambition had already created in the red chamber.

When asked by one of the journalists if he would re-contest, Lawan replied: “I am not here to answer whether I am running for Senate President or not.”
His refusal to clarify his position on the matter has strengthened the speculations that he was holding consultations with newly elected lawmakers and the returning ones at the upper legislative chambers.
This has unsettled some of the aspirants who believe that Lawan should not throw his hat into the ring since he hails from the same zone as the vice-president-elect.

The Yobe federal lawmaker was said to have told his close allies that coming from the same zone as Shettima won’t deny him the position since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker of the House of Representatives also hail from the same geopolitical zone, South-west.
An aide to one of the aspirants told THISDAY that his principal and other aspirants are determined to oppose the zoning of the position to the North-east.
Report that Northern Aspirants Withdrew from Race Fake, Says Group

In a related development, a civil society organisation, Policy Advocacy, and Integrity Network Nigeria have debunked a report in a section of the media that aspirants for the Senate Presidency from the Northern region have withdrawn from the race.
The group in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Josh Mesele, said the report was completely fake.
“We are amazed and taken aback by the fake report in one of the tabloids belonging to one of the aspirants from the South shamelessly claiming that aspirants from the North have all stepped down from the race. This is a lie from the pit of hell. We can boldly say with all sense of responsibility that no single aspirant from the North has stepped down, rather they are very much in the race.

“The leading aspirant in the race, Distinguished Senator Barau I Jibrin from the North-west, for instance, has been up and doing with his campaign and gaining grounds daily all over the country. We urge all well-meaning Nigerians, especially Senators-elect not to be deceived by this misleading report. The report has clearly shown that the aspirant in question is drowning in the race and desperately clawing at a non-existent straw,” the group declared.