Politics

Tinubu’s absence stalls APC’s zoning of 10th NASS leadership

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Wednesday, May 3, failed to take a decision on the zoning of the Senate Presidency and Speakership of the 10th National Assembly.

The APC NWC held a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking with journalists after the end of the four-hour meeting, the APC National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, disclosed that the NWC could not take a position on the zoning arrangement without the contribution of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, at the parley.

Tinubu had left Abuja for Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to inaugurate some projects executed by the state governor, Nyesom Wike.

While the South-East and South-South lawmakers believed it is equitable to award the Senate Presidency to their zones, their Northern counterparts are insisting that only the parameters of competence and experience mattered.

Adamu, however, noted that the party’s leadership remains more formidable and united, saying: “The zoning of presiding officers of the National Assembly that some of you are asking about is not what today’s meeting is all about. When we want to do zoning, we don’t just go alone as a party.

“Zoning is to take along the person who has the mandate of the country, the President-elect in the person of Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“We have to take him along. He travelled after the elections and came back only last week. We have to carry him along.

“Also, we cannot stop those who are ambitious with zonal, individual or institutional interests. We cannot deny them.

“For as long as that is there, we have to find a persuasive manner to get some level of consensus. That is what we are working on. It is not a one-day affair,” the APC chairman disclosed.

Also speaking with newsmen, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, corroborated the party’s National Chairman, saying: “We are not wasting time. There is no timeline to do so. The zoning is something that the party does.

“It is a mechanism by which the party is able to make decisions and afford those who are interested in competing for power in the leadership of the 10th National Assembly to do so seamlessly with a minimum rift and rancour.

“So there is no timeline to that. We are not in a hurry. We want to do it right. You also heard the chairman say it required very exhaustive consultation.

“Not just from the leadership of the party but also from those who are aspiring so that whatever the party comes up with, by way of formula, will be acceptable with minimum friction.

“It is important that the consultation is done and it is done properly. That is what is going on right now,” Morka stated.

He further revealed that a committee, comprising five of the six NWC zonal chairmen, has been set up to resolve the lingering feud between Adamu and the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-West, Salihu Lukman.

The APC spokesman added that the committee will help the party to address the concerns raised by Lukman.

Morka said: “Amongst all of the issues discussed at the meeting, we look at some internal and domestic housekeeping matters with a colleague that you know who has expressed his concerns about something he believes the party should be doing. We deliberated fully about it.

“As we speak, a committee that was set up to complete that conversation is in progress right now. So, there is still a meeting that is ongoing that I am supposed to be part of to fully rectify that discussion and offer final recommendations on that subject.

“But I am happy to report that the party stands united behind the leadership of the National Chairman of our party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

“We are all standing together. The concerns raised by our colleague (Lukman) who has concerns, are being looked into. And I think in due course, we will have very specific conclusions from those discussions,” he noted.

The Star