National Assembly Leadership Tussle Divides Northern Stakeholders

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Northern Stakeholders across party and religious divides are set to convene to deliberate on the choice of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President of the 10th Senate.

THISDAY  learnt that the stakeholders comprising Senators-Elect, Traditional and Religious stalwarts have agreed to meet and brainstorm on the development.

It was gathered that although the  date  had not been fixed by a reliable source said the  meeting would either be held in Kaduna or Abuja before the end of the week.

The source said while  some of the critical stakeholders were insisting on supporting a northern senator as Senate President, others had already  zeroed in on the Senate Chief Whip and his  Niger East Senator colleague as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

The third group, he added, seemed to have aligned with the position of the strategists of the President Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who are scheming for the adoption of either Senator Godswill Akpabio or Adams Oshiomhole as Senate President and Barau Jibrin as Deputy Senate President.

Tinubu, according to a source, who craved anonymity, had during the week accepted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would leave open  the senate presidency of the incoming 10th National Assembly to the
South.

The development, it was learnt, formed the details of what transpired at the last meeting with Tinubu, the leadership of the APC and some National Assembly members.

On the same note, majority of senators -elect had insisted that the office must be openly zoned to the entire southern region with no particular preference to any zone.

Many, however, expressed their confidence in the duo of returning Senators Orji Kalu and Sani Musa to man the offices of the President and Deputy Senate President of the National Assembly.

Moved by the development a  member of the  National Working Committee of the APC from the North, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that there was still disagreement among the northern stakeholders on who becomes the Senate President.

The stakeholders are expected to reach a truce on the issue on a yet to be decided date.

It was learnt that some stakeholders still want the North to produce the Senate President while others are willing to concede the office to South-east.

It is believed that the nation’s tripod ( Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) should be considered for the sake of peace and unity of the country.

The NWC member said: “ The South-east may have been ignored in the past and we do not want a situation whereby the incoming government will be faced with a lot of challenges.

The political consciousness and awareness in today’s Nigeria is one that should not be overlooked.

“We know we gave the votes but peaceful governance should also be considered.

“We will meet and take decisions on the President-elect’s decision. We are definitely not against  his Choice of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Senator Sani Musa as President and Deputy President respectively because both of them are acceptable to all Nigerians considering their character and personality.

“We will also want the president-elect to take serious measures to appreciate the North-west for their contribution,” the source disclosed.

Another ranking Senator-elect, who pleaded anonymity, said the meeting of the stakeholders would help the North to move in unison.

He said: “It is expected that every region will fight for their interest to be protected in the incoming administration.

“On the choice of Orji Kalu the lawmaker held that there are no grudges against the candidature of the former Abia Governor describing him as strong ally of the North.

“We are not opposed to Kalu becoming the Senate President,  over the years he has proven to have our interest at heart,  you can see from the prestigious traditional titles he has earned from us, but we need to come together and agree on this, because our interest is paramount.

By the end of the meeting involving various stakeholders in the North, we will know the direction of the North.

“It will strengthen us more. If the senate president will not come to us we will make other demands. We will support the Choice of Kalu and Musa because they have the numbers to win the election too.

“They are popular among the northern senators and it is fair and just to have a South easterner as the president of the 10th Assembly.

“A lot of my colleagues share the same sentiment that a South easterner should be President of the Senate,” the source added.

National Assembly Leadership Tussle Divides Northern Stakeholders

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Northern Stakeholders across party and religious divides are set to convene to deliberate on the choice of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President of the 10th Senate.

THISDAY  learnt that the stakeholders comprising Senators-Elect, Traditional and Religious stalwarts have agreed to meet and brainstorm on the development.

It was gathered that although the  date  had not been fixed by a reliable source said the  meeting would either be held in Kaduna or Abuja before the end of the week.

The source said while  some of the critical stakeholders were insisting on supporting a northern senator as Senate President, others had already  zeroed in on the Senate Chief Whip and his  Niger East Senator colleague as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

The third group, he added, seemed to have aligned with the position of the strategists of the President Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who are scheming for the adoption of either Senator Godswill Akpabio or Adams Oshiomhole as Senate President and Barau Jibrin as Deputy Senate President.

Tinubu, according to a source, who craved anonymity, had during the week accepted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would leave open  the senate presidency of the incoming 10th National Assembly to the
South.

The development, it was learnt, formed the details of what transpired at the last meeting with Tinubu, the leadership of the APC and some National Assembly members.

On the same note, majority of senators -elect had insisted that the office must be openly zoned to the entire southern region with no particular preference to any zone.

Many, however, expressed their confidence in the duo of returning Senators Orji Kalu and Sani Musa to man the offices of the President and Deputy Senate President of the National Assembly.

Moved by the development a  member of the  National Working Committee of the APC from the North, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that there was still disagreement among the northern stakeholders on who becomes the Senate President.

The stakeholders are expected to reach a truce on the issue on a yet to be decided date.

It was learnt that some stakeholders still want the North to produce the Senate President while others are willing to concede the office to South-east.

It is believed that the nation’s tripod ( Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) should be considered for the sake of peace and unity of the country.

The NWC member said: “ The South-east may have been ignored in the past and we do not want a situation whereby the incoming government will be faced with a lot of challenges.

The political consciousness and awareness in today’s Nigeria is one that should not be overlooked.

“We know we gave the votes but peaceful governance should also be considered.

“We will meet and take decisions on the President-elect’s decision. We are definitely not against  his Choice of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Senator Sani Musa as President and Deputy President respectively because both of them are acceptable to all Nigerians considering their character and personality.

“We will also want the president-elect to take serious measures to appreciate the North-west for their contribution,” the source disclosed.

Another ranking Senator-elect, who pleaded anonymity, said the meeting of the stakeholders would help the North to move in unison.

He said: “It is expected that every region will fight for their interest to be protected in the incoming administration.

“On the choice of Orji Kalu the lawmaker held that there are no grudges against the candidature of the former Abia Governor describing him as strong ally of the North.

“We are not opposed to Kalu becoming the Senate President,  over the years he has proven to have our interest at heart,  you can see from the prestigious traditional titles he has earned from us, but we need to come together and agree on this, because our interest is paramount.

By the end of the meeting involving various stakeholders in the North, we will know the direction of the North.

“It will strengthen us more. If the senate president will not come to us we will make other demands. We will support the Choice of Kalu and Musa because they have the numbers to win the election too.

“They are popular among the northern senators and it is fair and just to have a South easterner as the president of the 10th Assembly.

“A lot of my colleagues share the same sentiment that a South easterner should be President of the Senate,” the source added.