Leadership Tussle In National Assembly Intensifies Despite President Tinubu’s Meeting With Members-Elect

Some federal lawmakers-elect from Northern Nigeria had explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning arrangement for the leadership of the National Assembly cannot stand.

President Bola Tinubu’s meetings with lawmakers-elect to resolve the crisis over the All Progressives Congress zoning arrangement ended in a stalemate as no agreement was reached.

The All Progressives Congress’ National Working Committee had micro-zoned the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President seats to Senator Godswill Akpabio from South-South and Senator Jibrin Barau from North-West, respectively.

While other aspirants like Senators Abdulaziz Yari, (Zamfara West); Osita Izunaso (Imo West) and Orji Kalu (Abia North) have insisted that they would not step down for the party’s consensus candidate.

Some federal lawmakers-elect from Northern Nigeria had explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning arrangement for the leadership of the National Assembly cannot stand.

The lawmakers-elect in separate interviews said they were not consulted before the announcements, which signalled the President Bola Tinubu government’s disposition of trying to handpick the leaders of the National Assembly and make them rubber-stamp.

However, in the meeting held on Thursday Tinubu appealed to lawmakers to uphold national interest, according to a member-elect for Enugu East/Isiuzo Federal Constituency, Prof Paul Nnamchi, who spoke with The PUNCH.

“He appealed that we should forget about party politics and face national interest. That was the major part of his speech. He didn’t mention anybody’s name to be voted for. Maybe he is appealing, but I didn’t hear anybody’s name,” Nnamchi said.

Sources in the G-7 also confirmed that Tinubu asked members-elect to work with the zoning plan of the APC, clearing the way for aspirants for a position allocated to a particular zone to contest against themselves.

A source close to Jaji and Wase said, “Prior to yesterday (Wednesday meeting), there was a meeting of the aspirants with Tinubu at the State House. He was not categorical. What he told them there and then was that the zoning stands.

‘’But he did not say ‘support Abbas’ but he said ‘zoning of the party stands.’ So, invariably, what he was trying to tell them, based on our interpretation, is that those aspirants from that zone can go ahead and contest.”

When asked about Wase who has said he would be the next Speaker of the House despite being from Plateau State in the North-Central, where no leadership position was zoned to, the source admitted that “it does not favour him.”

However, the source stated, “That is what Tinubu told members-elect on that day. I can confirm that one,” adding that, “It leaves Jaji, Soli and Abbas – the three of them – to slug it out.”

When asked to be categorical if Jaji was going ahead to contest against Abbas, the source said, ‘Yes, he is.” The source, however, could not say the same about Wase.

The source further disclosed that Jaji held a meeting with some members-elect at his Abuja office on Thursday afternoon, as part of his continued lobbying for votes.

While the source faulted the reports that Wase and Jaji shunned the Wednesday night meeting with Tinubu, he could not confirm if they were at the general meeting which was held on Thursday.

The source also confirmed the meeting between the G-7 and members-elect scheduled for Saturday.