From Fred Itua, Abuja
Barely a month to the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, senators-elect who are members of the APC and a coalition of opposition parties, have rejected the micro-zoning of the position of the Senate president.
This is even as APC governors from the South East, David Umahi of Ebonyi State and Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, have come under fire for allegedly selling out in making a strong case for the South East in the zoning of National Assembly offices.
The lawmakers, in their separate interviews with Daily Sun, said though the 10th National Assembly has no intentions of antagonising the Executive, they would not allow another arm of a government to hand-pick the presiding officers of the Senate.
The lawmakers said the party is unwilling to learn from previous mistakes, where those endorsed were rejected by senators and opted for neutral presiding officers.
Last week in a video that has since gone viral online, Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, flanked by other APC governors, claimed that Akpabio had been endorsed as the consensus candidate of the party
Almost a fortnight ago, the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC, led by the national chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, said the party was still consulting and would announce its position soon.
He had said: “When we do the zoning meeting, we don’t just go alone as a party. Zoning is to take along the person, who has the mandate of this country, the president-elect, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu; we want to take him along. He travelled after the election and he came back only last week and we have to carry him along.
“And we cannot stop those who are ambitious or zoning interests, or individual interests, we cannot deny them. And as long as that is there, we have to find a way, persuasively, to reach some level of consensus. That’s what we are working on. It is not a one-day affair.”
Similarly, a fortnight ago, President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, also reportedly endorsed Akpabio. But the move was rejected by the various caucuses of the Senate, which said they would oppose the move, citing many reasons why the former Akwa Ibom State governor was a wrong choice.
Some APC stakeholders, who have been at the forefront of zoning, said micro-zoning the position would be detrimental. They also warned of dismissing some aspirants , who are from some parts of the country.
Akpabio, Orji Uzor Kalu, Adams Oshiomhole, Osita Izunaso, among others, are gunning for the same position.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC has 59 senators-elect while the opposition made up of different political parties, has 50 members.
The APC senators-elect interviewed, said if the administration of Tinubu must succeed, an independent legislature that is not subservient to the Executive must be allowed to exist. They said by constitutional design, the National Assembly and the Executive arm are not expected to be on same page, but added that they would always find a common ground in the interest of Nigeria’s democracy.
They said zeroing in on a particular aspirant without recourse to an important part of the country would further divide the nation along religious and ethnic lines.
Some of the lawmakers who are opposed to the micro-zoning and the hurried decision taken by the outgoing APC governors, argued that the position should be zoned to the entire South and the contest be open in order to create a sense of belonging.
“Opposition senators-elect and some APC lawmakers, are insisting that the 10th National Assembly should be allowed to elect its own leaders. If the call by lawmakers is ignored, Tinubu may face a similar challenge experienced by Muhammadu Buhari when Bukola Saraki held sway as President of the Senate.
“The current Senate, whose leadership was determined by the Executive is a clear example why Nigeria needs an independent National Assembly, where lawmakers are expected to watch the excesses of the Executive,” a lawmaker noted
Another lawmakers from the North said: “Of what relevance is their endorsement? We’re still calling on Tinubu not to make a mistake in the early stages of his presidency by listening to selfish people who want to undermine the National Assembly.
“I’m a Fulani man and I understand what it means to be sidelined. The South East has been sidelined by the APC since Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015. If Tinubu continues with the same thing, it means we’re telling the Igbo that they don’t belong to this country.
“You can’t ignore a major tribe in the first three leadership positions in this country. We know that Tinubu will not appoint an Igbo man as the Secretary to Government of the Federation. A leadership position in the Senate maybe their best shot.”
Meanwhile, a leading sociopolitical group, United Southern Coalition, has called on the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to sanction Governors Umahi and Uzodinma, for sabotaging any efforts to have the position of the President of the Senate zoned to the South East.
National Coordinator of the Coalition, Mazi Cosmas Arinze, said Umahi and Uzodinma are driven by greed, over fears that a Senate President of South East extraction, will challenge their political dominance in the region.
Arinze noted: “Umahi and Uzodinma are known Igbo governors. They’re also leaders of APC. We’re aware that they sabotaged any plans to have APC zone the position of the President of the Senate to the South East. If they’re not sanctioned, the rest of the country will never take the Igbo serious again.”