By Aaron Ossai
The zoning arrangement for 10th National Assembly presiding officers announced by the All Progressives Congress (APC) may be heading for a collapse following widespread opposition to the plan by major stakeholders.
In a statement, one of the contestants for the speakership position, Hon; Yusus Gagdi, the opposition is led by members-elect aspiring for the Speaker of the House known as the G7.
“They have vowed to work in unity against the party’s anointed candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas (Kaduna, North-west) and Hon. Benjamin Kalu (Abia State, South-east).
“Members of the G7 are Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase; Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi; Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara; Hon. Sada Soli; Hon. Mariam Onuoha and Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji.
“The group, among others, has rejected the micro zoning of the leadership positions in the House, as well as the exclusion of the North-central region which has serially shown loyalty and dedication to the APC by votes delivered to the party in state and presidential elections.
“Based on new developments which followed the meeting of G7 members and the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the weekend, it is now clear that the attempt by some elements within the APC to foist Hon. Abbas on the House is not progressing as planned.
“The entire arrangement is being reconsidered and a new zoning arrangement that will be favourable to all parties, especially the North-central, is expected to be announced soon. This is especially as Sen. Abdul’aziz Yari from Zamfara, the same North-west zone as Hon. Abbas, has refused to back down from the contest for Senate President.
“With Sen. Yari forging ahead, the possibility of the Senate and the House producing leaders who are Muslims is high and the president-elect has made it clear that he will not support the top four political positions in the country to be occupied by people of the same faith, hence his intervention in the zoning debacle to ensure that there is a balance”, the statement read.
