The member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF) has spoken against the choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the next Senate President.
The leader of the Arewa community in Southern Nigeria, Musa Saidu stated that Akpabio’s emergence as the next Senate President would lead to the downfall of Nigeria.
Saidu, who argued that no true Northerner would endorse Akpabio for the Senate Presidency, condemned Akpabio’s endorsement by a Northern coalition.
A statement by Saidu reads partly: “We hereby dissociate ourselves from the endorsement of Akpabio for the Senate Presidency by a coalition of Northern groups.
“No true Northern group will want to endorse Akpabio for a sensitive position like that of Senate President because he is not friendly with the North.
“We are the people who know Akpabio because we are residents in the South; we know those who are friendly with the Northern people, and Akpabio is actually not one of them.”
37 Lawmakers Work Against Akpabio Senate Presidency Ambition
Meanwhile, A tough conflict is brewing in the 10th National Assembly as about 37 senators-elect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) reject the proposed selection of Senators Godswill Akpabio and Jubrin Barau for Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
This decision to select Akapbio and Jibrin was conveyed to the senators-elect by president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during an APC leadership meeting in Abuja on Friday night.
The president-elect also disclosed that his pick for House of Representatives Speaker is Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who represents the Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna State.
Many of the 37 dissenting senators-elect cited national unity and cohesion as the basis for their opposition to Akpabio. Instead, they suggested Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and former Zamfara State governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, for the roles of Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
These APC senators demanded the president-elect remain neutral during the elections of the 10th National Assembly’s presiding and principal officers.
One source that spoke with Vanguard on the conflict between lawmakers said, “About 37 APC senators-elect have rejected the choice of Akpabio as the Senate President. He was introduced alongside Senator Barau as Deputy Senate President.But the senators-elect cited national unity and said they would rather vote for Orji Kalu and Yari as Senate President and Deputy Senate President.
“They also appealed to the president-elect who also chose Tajudeen Abbas for Speaker not to interfere in the elections of the presiding officers of both chambers of the National Assembly. This is the situation now.”
Concerns were also raised about the acceptance of Tajudeen Abbas as the House of Representatives Speaker.
Some members of the House favoured the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, for the position.
