VICE-PRESIDENT-ELECT Kashim Shettima defended President-elect Bola Tinubu’s choice for insisting that the next Senate President come from the South-South.
The ruling party is split over the zoning of leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly.
According to the zoning arrangement approved by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) and the president-elect, Godswill Akpabio of the South-South is the candidate for Senate Presidency, while Senator Jibrin Barau of the North-West is the deputy.
In the lower legislative body, Abbas Tajuddeen of the North West is expected to be elected Speaker, while Benjamin Kalu of the South East will be appointed Deputy Speaker.
This arrangement however has sparked a crisis inside the APC, with several MPs threatening to revolt.
“What we are trying to avoid is a situation whereby the number one citizen, number two citizen, the number three citizen, the number four citizen, the number four citizen are all of the same faith. That will validate the negative narrative of Islamization of Nigeria.
“That is why my principal, a fair minded individual, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu insist the number three citizen must come from the South/south (Christian). The stability of the nation is more important than any other consideration. We are talking about inclusivity.”
The Vice President-Elect promised to do everything possible to reach out to the other aspirants to hear their grievances and chart a way forward.
“I will take upon myself to reach out to the other contenders. Rt Hon Betara is my brother. We are from the same sub-region, we are from the same state and I have the best relationship with him. I met him too nights ago, I will sustain that.”
“Around 1pm today I met with Rt Wase, the deputy speaker. We will continue with the engagements so we can have a rancour-free Assembly.”
Speaking at his campaign office in Abuja, Shettima thanked consensus candidates for the House of Representatives and members of the Joint Task for their efforts to galvanize support for the party’s candidates.
Earlier, Usman Bello Kumo (APC,Gombe), Chairman of the Joint Task-10th Assembly, informed Shettima that the committee was made up of Members-Elect from all political parties.
According to him, the organization was not initially linked with any candidate but has determined to support whoever the APC chooses to lead the new 10th Assembly.
He added that this will foster a peaceful environment and a healthy working relationship with the executive in order to bring the country forward.
“In the 10th Assembly, we will try to work harmoniously with the executive. In the two different instances 7th Assembly, in the 8th Assembly budget were not implemented because they were attacked.
“So if you’re not in the good book of the executive, your budget, your constituency intervention capital projects cannot see the light of the day. But in the 9th Assembly, we are committed to work harmoniously with the executive.”
Abass commended the president-elect and his deputy for their support and finding them worthy to steer the affairs of the next House of Representatives.
“We are very grateful to you, the president-elect and to the party for finding us worthy for the leadership. I want to assure you that we will not disappoint the party. We will work harmoniously with the executive,” he said.
Also speaking, the APC Deputy Speakership candidate, Kalu thanked the APC, Tinubu and Shetimma for rewarding the South-East despite the abysmal performance of the party in the zone during the general election.
“In your magnanimity you decided to show that cohesion was necessary for nation building. But this time, irrespective of the votes that come from the South East, you considered cohesion and gave us deputy speaker, we are grateful.
“Sir, here we have over 153 members some of whom are outside who are in support of the decision that the party has taken. Because this is the decision that will give every part of the nation a sense of belonging,” he said.
Comments are closed.