NASS leadership G-7 reject APC’s zoning

Nigeria National Assembly

The All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning arrangement for leadership positions in the coming National Assembly has continued to generate sharp reactions from stakeholders, including aspirants. The party, on Monday, released its zoning template for the presiding officers’ seats with Senators Godswill Akpabio(South-South) and Barau Jibrin (North West) picked as preferred candidates for senate president and deputy senate president respectively. In the House of Representatives, the party endorsed Tajudeen Abbas from the North West as the speaker and Benjamin Kalu from the South East as deputy. However, other aspirants, their supporters, lawmaker select from different geo-political zones, and a governor havere jected the zoning arrangement, which they said favoured one zone against the others. Aggrieved G-7 aspirants demand reversal Seven aspirants for the speaker’s seat yesterday formed an alliance tagged G-7 to express their rejection of the zoning template. The members of the group are Hon Yusuf Gagdi; Hon Mukhtar Aliyu Betara; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase; House of Representatives Majority Leader, Hon Alhassan Doguwa; Hon Sada Soli; Hon Mariam Onuoha and Hon Aminu Sani Jaji. Rising from a meeting with the APC NWC members at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, the G-7vowed to oppose any attempt by outside forces to impose a leadership on the House. They described the zoning arrangement as unjust, unfair, and inequitable, adding that it was unacceptable. Gagdi, while addressing the APC chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, emphasised that the proposed arrangement by the NWC was wrong because the National Assembly was an independent body that could not be turned into the presidency’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) where people were picked at will. He said: “It is not late; let the bwrongs be righted. Unless this is done, sir, our party should not hope that our loyalty will be guaranteed at the detriment of justice, peace, and fairness. “We will respect justice, unity, and equity in the chamber, but only if your instruction is in line with the principle of this party. Sir, do not hope that we have come here to succumb to any instruction and directive given to us. ’Reacting, Adamu said: “I plead with you in good conscience to give us a little time to take a good and better look at your presentation and open our ears and our eyes to hear and see more before we can come with the finality of your submission and the outcome of it.”

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