Senate Presidency: Northern and South East Emergence an Absurdity -says Group
By our NASS Correspondent
The Northern Democratic Agenda have expressed concerns over moves by some northern elites to pick the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly without considering the religious sensitivity and diverse nature of Nigeria.
The Northern group also criticized the South East zone for laying claims to the Senate Presidency having had a shot at the office for 8 years and Deputy Senate Presidency for twelve years since advent of democracy in Nigeria in 1999.
In a statement yesterday , the National President of the group Yakubu Turaki called on President Elect , Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu , The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, lovers of democracy, traditional leaders and religious leaders who value the peace and unity of Nigeria to prevail on all northern senators to appreciate the struggle by all men and women of conscience who stood for the zoning of the Presidential slot to the South for the sake of fairness to bury the idea of having the Senate President from the North , “let alone another northern Muslim”.
The group specifically called on the Kaduna state Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who stood firm for a southern Presidency when other Governors sat on the fence to immediately add his voice to what he calls “absurdity of the time”, adding that “politicians must not allow their personal interest to becloud and override the national interest that will foster peace, unity and stability of this country “.
The group maintained that,” we have been following events of the last few days since the return of the President Elect and we want to drew attention to the dangerous path some Senators from the Northern part of Nigerian, who are even Muslims by faith are going about plotting to pick the Senate Presidency and we want to warn that those making these plans are enemies of democracy and haters of Nigeria”.
The group equally stated that, “When we endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio, we did that in recognition of the fact that he is the most ranking senator from the South South, he is a Christian and he is a member of the All-Progressives Congress who worked hard for the victory of the party in the South South.
“We did that because we believed it was fair for the South South to also have a shot at the Senate Presidency because the South East has had it and fairness demands that the position moves to another zone of the South.
“We did that because it will be proper to consider the zone that produces the oil we use as source of revenue and the fact again, that he will stabilize the National Assembly for the President to begin the process of a new Nigeria from day one”.
They said, “we don’t want to understand that the Northern senators are looking to settle for Deputy or whatever, we are saying it offends the sensitivity of Nigerians that a Northern Muslim is even mentioned in the first place.
We expect those whose names are mentioned to have not allowed their names linked to the absurdity of the time because Nigerians feel offended and taken for granted by such developments. They have the numbers to pick that position and nobody should see what they are doing as jokes “.
