Tinubu Rejects Akpabio As Sole-Contender For Senate President – Report

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rejected a push by some forces in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to micro-zone the senate presidency of the incoming 10th National Assembly to south-south geopolitical zone, a situation that would have left Senator Godswill Akpabio as the sole contender.

On the contrary, Tinubu insisted that the office must be openly zoned to the entire southern region with no particular preference to any zone, Vanguard reported late on Thursday.

The development, it was learnt formed the details of what transpired at the Wednesday meeting with the President-elect, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some National Assembly members.

It was learnt that Tinubu outrightly rejected proposals made by some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators for the Senate Presidency to be micro-zoned to the South-South.

A reliable source told who pleaded anonymity said they the President-elect reasoned that since the members of the party supported the zoning of the presidency slot that produced him to South, it will not be logical for the same people to now adopt a micro-zoning system.

The source said that Tinubu insisted that zoning the senate presidency to the south will give all the qualified aspirants from South East and South South opportunity go into a fair contest for senators to make their choice, the same way APC delegates made their choice of a presidential candidate out of the lot.

It was also learnt that Tinubu cautioned the leadership against thrown the party into a crisis, directing an amendment to the NWC’s recommendations.

“The plot to have a sole South South candidate by zoning the office to the zone failed flat with President-elect who, in his wisdom, rejected pressures by some members of the party leadership and the Southwest senators for the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South South.

“There’s no truth in all that was reported in the media that the President and the NWC have settled for South South. The President insisted that the position should be zoned to the South region”, the source said.

GWG.ng reports that Tinubu’s position on the Senate president comes against the background of the fact Senator Akpabio is the only ranking senator-elect from the South-South geopolitical zone and showed political capacity in the last election by pushing forward the APC in his constituency.

Source: Vanguard

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