12th April, 2023
The All Progressives Congress (APC) will make a decision on zoning the leadership of the 10th National Assembly at the end of the Ramadan fast.
Ajibola Bashiru, the Senate Spokesperson, stated this on Wednesday when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
Quoting him, Bashiru said, “I believe that our party will ultimately take a decision on the zoning possibly after Ramadan and certainly before June when the next Assembly will be convoked”.
“It will be in the best interest of our party to zone the offices so that we can narrow the number of contestants because when you have eight persons from a single political party contesting, it creates a problem for us to have a cohesive force going into the election,” he added.
Many APC chieftains and legislative member-elect have expressed interest in the highly coveted positions in the red and green chambers. Some of them include Orji Kalu, Jibrin Barau, Godswill Akpabio, Dave Umahi, Ahmad Lawan, Ali Ndume, Abdulaziz Yari, and Osita Izunaso, amongst others.
According to Bashiru, any of the Senators-elect is qualified to preside over the National Assembly.
However, he stated that the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) have not yet decided which of the six geopolitical zones will produce the next Senate President.
“I’m not aware that the NWC of our party has taken a position on the issue of zoning and where the zoning will be done.
“I’m not aware that the NEC of our party has taken any decision but party leaders will be making a lot of permutations to ensure a seamless relationship between the executive and the legislative arms.”
On the variables that the APC will consider in determining who becomes the next Senate President and Speaker of the Green Chamber, the lawmaker stated, “The leadership of the party, as well as the members of the 10th Assembly, will have to look at so many variables.”
Ranking, competence, capacity, religion, and the zonal contribution to Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election are among the parameters to be considered, according to him.
“For instance, arguments may be canvassed like the religious argument that the President is a Muslim, the Vice-President is a Muslim, will it not be reasonable to have a Christian as the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and you cannot which away such argument particularly when you see the divisive nature that politics has taken in recent time in Nigeria.
“You may also look at the North-West (geopolitical zone) which has produced the bulk of the votes by which we won the Presidency. Will you discountenance their contribution?” he queried.
He added that the party may also consider the South-South as an emerging strong base for the party because the party did well from the zone in the last elections.