The race for the Senate presidency is being narrowed down to a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, but there is an indication that northern Senators are strategising to ensure that one of them from the North-West geopolitical zone clinches the position.
Although the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), after a meeting last Wednesday said it was not in a hurry to take a position on the zoning of the presiding offices of the 10th National Assembly, state governors on the party’s platform may have settled for Akpabio who is a ranking senator from the South – South geo-political zone of the country. This came into the open on Thursday when the Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State disclosed that Akpabio would emerge as president of the Senate.
Ganduje spoke in Calabar, Cross River State capital, at a meeting with Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State and Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ganduje, who failed to disclose whether his declaration was the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC), declared that the decision to nominate Akpabio was already a done deal.
“The Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will come from the South-South and it is no other person than the former Governor of Akwa Ibom, “the uncommon governor and uncommon minister, who is going to be the uncommon president of the Senate. So, we have resolved that. I am giving you assurance, we are waiting for the D-Day that he will be Senate president,” he declared.
While speaking during the meeting, Governor Ayade, on his part, expressed his delight that the 10th Assembly Senate Presidency would come from the South-south.
“I want to thank you so much for zoning the senate president to the south-south and to our brother from a neighbouring state, who is also part of Cross River State.
We want to thank you for this great opportunity because our dream of a Bakassi seaport is becoming very real,” he said.
Also last Wednesday, Akpabio was part of President-elect Tinubu’s entourage to the well publicised visit to Rivers State where they were hosted by the Governor Nyesom Wike.
At the Gala Nite in honour of Tinubu and his entourage, Akpabio was called to address the gathering. As he held the microphone about 40 senators present came out to stand beside him in solidarity. This gesture has since been interpreted by political analysts and watchers of political developments as Akpabio’s endorsement as the next senate president.
This is also as some senators-elect from the North have insisted that the region must produce the senate president in the 10th national assembly.
Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari, (APC Zamfara) and Senator Barau Jibrin, (APC Kano) are the two leading aspirants for the position from the North.
What is working against the duo is the fact that they are Muslims. Analysts believe it would be difficult for the President-elect and his Vice to be Muslims and the Senate President also to be a Muslim.
It was gathered that the northern lawmakers from various political parties, took the decision last Sunday night during a meeting in Abuja, which was said to have been attended by 39 out of the 58 northern senators-elect.
They were said to have demanded that the senate president should be zoned to the North in appreciation of the region’s support to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the last presidential election.
It was further gathered that the Forum had also delegated two of its ranking members to meet with the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to relay their resolutions to him.
Also, a group, the Arewa Political Forum has urged Senator Barau Jibrin to reject the call to accept the deputy senate president slot, but rather he should contest the position of president. The Forum’s Convener, Dr Abubakar Daura, made this known after an emergency meeting in Kaduna.
The group said the North had already ceded the presidency to the South, therefore, it would not accept the position of the deputy senate president.
The group said, “We sacrificed the number one position and now they want us to let this go. It won’t happen.
”We insist on Sen. Barau Jibrin, not just because he is from the North-West, but because he is the most competent among all the other candidates for the office of the President of the Senate.
“Jibrin is the highest-ranking, longest-serving legislator in the Senate and deserves to be the next Senate President. He is also from the state that has supported the All Progressives Congress (APC), since inception, and gave the highest votes during the 2023 Presidential Election.”
The group said, ”Barau is the choice of the North and cannot decide on his own to accept the deputy position being offered to him.”
It could be recalled that last Wednesday, APC Chairman, Adamu, after a meeting of the APC National Working Committee (NEC) that lasted for over four hours, said the zoning of offices of presiding officers was not part of the agenda and further noted that no formal pronouncement would emanate from the party national secretariat on the much expected zoning arrangement without the input of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He said, ”No, that isn’t what today’s meeting is about. When we will do the zoning meeting, we won’t just go as a party; zoning has to take along the man who has the mandate of this country, that’s the president elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“He travelled after the election and he came back only last week. We have to carry him along and we can’t stop those who are ambitious, who have zonal interest or individual interest. We can’t deny them.
“As long as that is there, we have to find a way to reach some level of understanding. That is what we are working on. It isn’t a one-day affair.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, also appealed to party faithful to exercise patience, even as he declared that there was no timeline for the formal unveiling of the zoning arrangement.
“We are not wasting time. There is no timeline to do so. The zoning is something that the party does. It is a mechanism by which the party is able to make decisions and afford those who are interested in competing for power in the leadership of the 10th National Assembly to do so with a minimum rift and rancor, peacefully and seamlessly. So there is no timeline. We are not in hurry. We want to do it right.
“The chairman just said this required very exhaustive consultation, not just of the leadership of the party but also of those who are aspiring. So, whatever the party comes up with, by way of formula, will be acceptable with minimum friction. It is important that the consultation is done and it is done properly. That is what is going on right now,”Morka said.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
