By The ruling All Progressives Congress leadership and parliamentarians would take into account a variety of factors while choosing the presiding officers for the 10th National Assembly, according to Senate Spokesman Ajibola Bashiru on Wednesday.
In addition, he stated that the APC would choose a leadership zoning formula for the 10th assembly after the conclusion of the current Ramadan fast or before June 2023.
This was disclosed by Bashiru on Wednesday during an appearance with Sunrise Daily on Channels Television.
The party’s leadership and the members of the 10th Assembly, he continued, “will have to consider so many factors.
“For instance, arguments may be made that the President and Vice President are Muslims and that it is unreasonable to have a Christian serve as the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. You cannot dismiss such a claim, especially in light of the divisive tone that Nigerian politics has recently taken.
“You can also take a look at the North-West (geopolitical zone), where the majority of the votes that helped us win the presidency were cast. Will you disregard their involvement?
The Senate spokesperson responded to the party’s zoning decision by saying, “I believe that our party will ultimately take a decision on the zoning, probably after Ramadan and definitely before June when the new Assembly will be convoked.”
He continued, “Zoning the offices will be in the best interest of our party to restrict the number of contenders because when you have eight contestants from a single political party, it presents a problem for us to have a coherent force going into the election.”
As for which of the six geopolitical zones would produce the next Senate President, Bashiru added that neither the APC National Working Committee nor the party’s National Executive Committee had made a choice.
“I’m not aware of any positions the NWC of our party has taken on the subject of zoning and the location of the zoning.
I’m not aware that our party’s NEC has made any decisions, but party leaders will be changing things a lot, he said, to make sure that there is no friction between the legislative and executive branches.
According to The PUNCH, no less than eight senators had expressed interest in the contest. Senators Jibrin Barau from Kano Central, Sani Musa from Niger East, Orji Kalu from Abia North, and GodsWill Akpabio are among them (Akwa-Ibom North-West ).
Others include Senators Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North), Peter Ndubueze (Imo North), Abdul’Aziz Yari (Zamfara West), and Osita Izunaso (Imo West).
