NASS Leadership: Anxiety Heightens As APC Govs Meet Today

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will today deliberate on the tussle for the National Assembly leadership.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of heightened lobby of some governors to insist on the retention of the zoning arrangement earlier made by the party.

The Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who doubles as the chairman of the Southern Governors Forum had faulted the zoning arrangement of APC National Working Committee (NWC), describing it as unworkable, skewed and reinforcing injustice and enhancing inequity.

APC had zoned the Senate President position (South South, Godswill Akpabio), Deputy Senate President (North West, Senator Jibrin Barau); Speaker (North West, Hon Tajudeen Abbas); Deputy Speaker (South East, Benjamin Kalu).

Even though the APC national chairman Abdullahi Adamu hinted last week that the zoning arrangement would be revisited, after a series of protests by aggrieved aspirants, some party stakeholders have insisted on retention of the zoning arrangement.

It was however gathered that fresh overtures were made to some of the aspirants for the Speaker of House of Representatives to accept deputy speaker position after they had earlier turned down ministerial offers.

Leadership newspaper had earlier reported that ministerial positions were offered to some of the aggrieved aspirants to make them forgo and accept Abbas who enjoys the backing of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamilia.

The aggrieved aspirants, popularly called G-6, are, Deputy speaker Hon. Ahmed Wase, Hon. Aliyu Betara, Hon. Sada Soli, Hon. Miriam Onuhoa, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, and Hon Sani Jaji.

However, a source close to the aggrieved aspirants, who pleaded anonymity said, “We are very confident that when the APC governors meet tomorrow (today), they will offer quality advice and proper solutions to the lingerie g crisis.

“The party appears to have forgotten that at no time had any system at the level of the President of ruling party leadership endorsed a particular speakership candidate successfully. Any steps toward that had always failed and this won’t be different.

“Quite honestly, more than 80 percent of the governors feel the zoning was wrongly done without proper understanding and consultation as the national chairman admitted.

“But the issue is that some of them are too scared to talk, especially when they hear Gbajabiamila will be chief of staff. Only the Ondo State governor has spoken and we commend him for what he did. He has really nailed it on the head.

“So, as we wait patiently, we are not losing our guards because these people are desperate to break our ranks. Several attempts have been made to intimidate us but they always failed.”

The source further revealed that emissaries were sent to the aggrieved aspirants to allow Hon Abbas get the position while the G6 group nominates someone from the South East as deputy.

“This is the second time they will reject an offer. First they promised to make Wase and Betara substantive ministers, but they refused the offer. The tour of Abbas is to beg the South West Governors to prevail on Akeredolu to back down his opposition because they know he is a strong voice who pursues his desires forcefully. He doesn’t care about who is involved once he is convinced about an issue.

“They wanted to go to Aketi but he turned the visit down. It means that the worst case scenario looming is…Benjamin Kalu is penciled to be sacrificed because according to the source, if the aggrieved aspirants accept, Kalu will be the minister to represent his state, Abia,” the source noted.

“All we want is that we in the House will elect our leader. It can be anyone, but certainly not Abbas because the southwest cannot dictate to the north what belongs to the north.

“Initially, we felt we must protect our party; but it does appear our party is not prepared to protect itself. It has failed in being and has caved in to Gbajabiamila and his boys.”

It was however gathered that the opposition lawmakers especially of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are weighing their prospects of springing a “surprise nomination.”

A source within the PDP who stated this however noted that they are still watching how the APC goes about resolving zoning arrangements and whether it can carry all stakeholders along.”