THISDAY’s investigation revealed that two major issues, geopolitical zone and religious leaning of the prospective aspirants, have sharply divided both the re-elected and fresh APC Senators-elect.
It was learnt at the weekend that the APC Senators-elect, especially the first-time ones, are worried about the failure of the party’s Senators-elect to resolve the issue in the two meetings they held recently.
A ranking and re-elected Senator from the North-central zone confided in THISDAY that two meetings of APC Senators-elect were held recently in Abuja to work on a template to present to the party’s leadership as a guide to zoning the Senate leadership.
He said the two meetings ended in a stalemate with Senators-elect pushing different positions as requirements for those aspiring to lead the 10th Senate.
According to him, while some believed that since the South-west and North-east have produced President and Vice-President, respectively, it would not be out of place if the North-west is allowed to produce the Senate President.
He said those championing this position have started canvassing support for the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin from Kano State, and former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari.
Some other Senators-elect, he further explained, were of the view that for equity and fairness, the Senate President should come from either the South-east or the South-south for a Christian Senator to emerge to balance the same-faith ticket of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima.
Those in this camp are backing Senators-elect, Osita Izunaso, Orji Uzor Kalu, Godswill Akpabio, and Adams Oshiomhole for Senate President.
THISDAY further gathered that the APC Senators-elect are now waiting on the leadership of the party to wade into the matter by coming up with the zoning formula for the Senate Presidency.
“We are waiting on the leadership of APC to meet with the Senators-elect before formally coming up with the zone to produce the Senate President.”
The ranking senator expressed optimism that the President-elect, Tinubu will also meet with the legislators in the coming days once he returns from France this week.
He also stated that all the issues will be resolved so as not to give the opposition political parties led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) any room to usurp the leadership positions ahead of the June 2023 inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
