10th National Assembly: APC Moves To Change Zoning Arrangement After Tinubu Meeting With Kwankwaso

10th National Assembly: APC Moves To Change Zoning Arrangement After Tinubu Meeting With Kwankwaso

 

There are signs that the All Progressives Congress (APC) may review its zoning arrangement.

 

News Week Nigeria gathered that the choice resulted  following the recent discussion between Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s presidential candidate, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president-elect, in Paris, France.

 

As a result of the meeting, it has emerged that North Central may be given consideration for the position of deputy Senate president rather than North West, which the APC had previously chosen for the position.

 

Godwill Akpabio, the South South senator and minister of Niger Delta affairs, was given preference in the APC’s zoning formula for the 10th National Assembly over Tajudeen Abbas, the North West speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

Ben Kalu (South East) and Barau Jubrin (North West) were also endorsed by the APC NWC for the positions of deputy Senate president and deputy House speaker, respectively.

 

The meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso had upset Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano State, who had been at odds with Kwankwaso, his predecessor.

 

The protracted power struggle came to a head in the most recent governorship contest, which Kwankwaso’s NNPP won by electing the state’s new governor.

 

The former governor of Kano State, Kwankwaso, was said to have argued for the North Central to be given consideration for the position of deputy Senate president at the meeting with Tinubu in France, in response to the controversy surrounding the party’s zoning formula that excluded the region.

 

According to what has been learned, Kwankwaso’s gesture is intended to ensure that he has easy access to the president-elect.

 

Senator Barau, the APC’s choice for deputy Senate president, is the senator-elect for Kano North and has Ganduje’s backing.

 

It was learned that Senator Sani Musa from Niger State in the North Central geopolitical zone might be given consideration for the position of deputy Senate president due to the likely alteration of the APC zoning formula.

 

According to a member-elect who spoke with our reporters in confidence, “Our outing today at the APC headquarters was very encouraging, and we are more determined to make the case that Abbass has the skills to lead us.

 

“Since we cannot predict exactly what the chambers will order, our plan at this point is to make sure we are well-armed and ready to enter the chamber. But in the event of anything unforeseen, we will propose a southerner who is a fervent supporter of Abbas to assume the lower chamber’s chair.

 

“Since we don’t lack personnel, the opposition cannot take anything from us. With people like Professor Julius Ihonvbere, who is highly regarded by everyone, we will undoubtedly travel to the South. As a backup plan, we can put him forward right away to balance everything.

 

“Keep in mind that we completed it in 2015.” The majority of us from the north supported Gbajabiamila over Dogara, but when Saraki won the senate’s top job, we were forced to immediately alter our strategy in the chambers to prevent the National Assembly from being led by two members of the same ethnic group. That’s how Dogara unexpectedly made an appearance.

 

 

Plan B is already in the works to ensure that a southerner succeeds the Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who is from the North West, in the Senate should Yari cause an upset.

 

Another source who spoke with News Week Nigeria stated that if Yari wins, it would leave a serious problem with two Muslims leading NASS in addition to being two Northerners. As a result, the group realised they needed to prepare a Plan B just in case. They will quickly and abruptly change to South for Speaker. A regional and religious balance needs to be achieved.

 

In the meantime, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to disregard rumours that some members of the G-7, a group made up of candidates for the leadership of the next House of Representatives, are against him by Tinubu/Shettima for Greater Nigeria (TSGN), a Northern group leading the APC’s 2023 election campaigns.

 

G-7 are Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s men who want him to succeed, according to a statement signed by the Association’s national president, Mallam Negedu Miringi, and national secretary, Comrade Suleiman Ahmed. They were the ones who put in the most effort to help him win the APC’s nomination for president and the subsequent general election. For him, they invested money and assumed risk.

 

“Against all odds, the majority of those candidates won Tinubu their respective constituencies at the polls. To ensure that Tinubu and the APC won their senatorial zones and constituencies, some even conspired against their brothers who ran as candidates for other political parties.

 

 

 

In a related development, the APC’s online media outlet, APC NewsOnline Television, has evaluated each candidate’s chances of winning the Senate President position in the upcoming 10th National Assembly.

 

According to the analysis, Senator Osita Izunaso was the only candidate without any baggage and had the best qualifications in terms of legislative experience, intelligence, and party commitment.

 

The organisation, which is well known for advancing and outlining the APC’s fundamental goals and ideological stance, has always been a part of the party’s general campaign machinery since the party’s ascent to prominence on the national stage. It is also affiliated with the APC BroomPlatform, which is the party’s highest-ranking support organisation and the brains behind the party’s policy platform.

 

The statement read, “After conducting a strategic nationwide poll of Nigerian professionals, politicians, and media practitioners on their legislative expectations for the next four years found a growing acceptance that while the southeast should produce the Senate president, the Senator-elect from Imo West, a longtime APC strategist, should mount the rostrum of the red chambers.

 

The president-elect reportedly decided to change the unpopular zoning formula and develop a new one that would improve national cohesion.