The North Central governors have unanimously rejected the zoning of the 10th Assembly leadership as released by the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
The decision was reached after a meeting with aspirants of the National Assembly of Nigeria, NASS Presiding Offices from the Zone held on Monday at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa Abuja.
In light of this development, the governors have scheduled a meeting with the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu to ensure that the interests of the North Central zone were well represented in the leadership of the 10th Assembly.
APC had micro-zoned the position of the Senate President to Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Jibrin Baraus as Deputy Senate President while Honourable Tajudeen Abas was anointed as the aspirant for the seat of the Speaker and Benjamin Kalu as Deputy Speaker.
However, the North Central governors have made it clear that they do not support this zoning arrangement and would work towards ensuring that the leadership of the 10th Assembly was fairly and equitably distributed amongst all zones.
The governors said:
“The North Central as a geopolitical zone is fully committed to supporting the incoming administration of the President-Elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a better Nigeria. And will do everything possible to ensure the Renewed Hope agenda is actualised for the prosperity of all Nigerians.
“We reviewed the proposed zoning structure released and promised to reach out to the President-elect His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC National Working Committee to appeal for reconsideration of the zoning of the Presiding offices of the National Assembly as released by the NWC.
“We raised reservation about the zoning formula released with the allocation of the Positions of the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly to a particular geopolitical zone of the country.”
The governors thereafter agreed to dialogue and resolve the NASS leadership issue by reaching out to all major stakeholders for an amicable and acceptable zoning framework that would be all-inclusive. This decision was made after carefully considering the aspirants’ positions.
Furthermore, the governors have appealed to all Senators and Members-elect to continue to give President-elect all the support needed for the smooth take-up of the 10th National Assembly.
They also emphasized the need for further consultations to ensure a seamless transition.
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