THE crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the choice of the leadership of the National Assembly entered another phase on Friday as senators from the North-East geopolitical zone disowned the ambition of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the seat of the Senate president.
Lawan reportedly has the endorsement of the party’s national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu.
And in rejecting Lawan as the choice for the nation’s number three position, the North-East senators asked “other zones” not to choose for the North-East if eventually the position is zoned to that part of the country.
Ten of the 13 APC senators from the North-East, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Friday said that the North-East was not behind the ambition of Senator Lawan to become the Senate president in the incoming National Assembly.
The senators, who were led by Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central), said that while the zone was still pleading with the leadership of the party to zone the Senate presidency to the area, the zone had not picked Senator Lawan.
They vowed to resist any attempt to impose any candidate on the zone.
According to the senators, the zone should be allowed to decide on an acceptable candidate after the zoning is ratified.
Senator Goje, who spoke on behalf of the other lawmakers, said that senators from the North-East held a caucus meeting on Thursday night at the Kaduna room, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, with Senator Lawan also in attendance.
He said the meeting had resolved that the North-East should be allowed to consult with the party leadership to nominate a consensus candidate for the position.
He alleged that Lawan sneaked out of the Abuja meeting, saying that the senators were shocked to discover that the Yobe State senator was being announced as the consensus candidate of the North-East and North-West senators in the media.
According to him, the development was unacceptable and, “in fact, desperation at its peak.”
Goje stated that the North-East would continue to appeal to the leadership of the APC to zone the highest position in the National Assembly, the Senate President, to the zone as a result of what he called “peculiar circumstances.”
He added that the caucus also requested that the party leadership provide the opportunity for the zone to nominate whoever they want for the position, after due consultation with the party.
“Therefore, in the light of the above resolutions, we call on all Nigerians to completely disregard any purported endorsement of any senator from the North-East by any zone for the position yet because any post zoned to us must have our input.
“We don’t know anything about any endorsement of anybody from the North-East being touted around through the pages of newspapers.
“We dissociate ourselves from any endorsements from other zones because the party has not zoned any position to us yet and we don’t want to jump the gun,” he said.
Senators-elect at the briefing, apart from Goje, were the secretary of the caucus, Isa Ahmed Gusau Bauchi Central); Ali Ndume (Borno South); Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe Central) and Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako (Adamawa Central.
Others were Binta Marshi Garba (Adamawa North); Ahmed Abubakar (Adamawa South); Usman Bayero Nafada (Gombe North), Abubakar Jare (Borno North) and Sulynan Nazif (Bauchi North).
Senator Lawan was said to be bereaved and was not available for the meeting, while Senator Ahmad Zannah (Borno Central) was said to be indisposed.
Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives from the North-East, Dr Aminu Malle, has expressed his readiness to run for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
– Tribune
