10th NASS Leadership: Prominent Group Blasts APC, Rejects Party's Choice of Akpabio, Abass

• A group has faulted the selection of Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abass by the ruling All Progressives Congress
• The Citizens Advocacy Group, in a statement, described the choice of APC's selection as an undemocratic imposition, noting the decision was highly offensive and must not stand
• Meanwhile, the group urged the ruling party to allow concerned Senators-Elect to make their choice based on the experience, competence and qualification of each aspirant

The appeal by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu to the aggrieved aspirants for the positions of the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of Representatives over the party’s choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Abass Tajudeen is yet to douse the tension within the ruling party.

The National Working Committee of the party had zoned the Senate presidency to the south-south to favour Akpabio.

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Group faults APC over selection of Akpabio, Abass

The deputy Senate president and the Speaker of the House were zoned to the North-West and the party picked Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano) and Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna) while the deputy speaker position was zoned to the southeast as Ben Kalu (Abia) was chosen.

Sequel to the controversy generated by the APC zoning arrangement, the Citizens Advocacy Group (CAG) has described the exercise as an imposition and a total disregard for the rule of law.

CAG, a conglomerate of concerned Nigerians committed to democratic ideals and independent legislature, said on Sunday, May 14, that the decision by the leadership of the APC to choose the Senate president for the 109-member Senate is an affront to the principle of separation of power.

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Speaking on behalf of CAG, its convener, Chris Sunday George what the APC did was an autocratic imposition which has no place in a democracy, saying that it poses a serious danger to the independent legislature and an attack on the principle of separation of power.

He said:

“The decision by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to impose a candidate on the Senate as the President of the next Upper Legislative Arm of the National Assembly has been generating an uproar in the polity. You will recall that the APC NWC has released the zoning of offices for the 10th National Assembly.

“We in the Citizens Advocacy Group believe the concerned Senators-Elect should be allowed to make their choice based on the experience, competence and qualification of each aspirant. If you are zoning it to a particular zone of the country, you cannot say this is the person that should be the Senate President from that zone when you have other candidates from the same zone who have expressed interest in the position.

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He further stated:

“For instance, the position of the Senate President was zoned to the South-South geopolitical zone, are we saying there are no other candidates from that zone who are qualified and competent enough to become the Senate President? The zone alone has six states including Akwa Ibom where the APC’s anointed candidate hails from; Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States.

“Why should we exclude five other states despite also having qualified Senators-Elect, both new and returning who have the experience to lead the Senate? Politics of exclusion in a democratic setting like Nigeria would only breed enmity, ill-feeling and rancour that the incoming administration cannot afford in a deeply divided country.”

"It should be an open quest", the group urges

According to him, CAG believes that the race should be thrown open for all the candidates who have expressed interest from the zone to test their strength and popularity in a free and fair contest, warning that anything short of that would not augur well for the smooth take-off of the 10th Assembly.

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George added:

“At this point in time when Nigeria is faced with a multitude of challenges, we cannot afford to inaugurate a new government and the National Assembly on a shaky and controversial note and we can avoid this by not giving room for imposition as the APC leadership has done. We reiterate that the decision of the party is not democratic. It is not well thought-out. It is highly offensive and a decision that must not be allowed to stand for the sake of equity and fair play.”

10th NASS: Shettima reveals why Tinubu chose Akpabio over Kalu, others

The vice-president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima has revealed that Godswill Akpabio was nominated for the Senate Presidency by the President-elect, Bola Tinubu to avoid the “negative narrative of Islamization.”

The former governor of Borno stated this on Friday, May 12 during a meeting with Hon Tajudeen Abbas, the anointed candidate of Tinubu for the speakership seat of the House of Representatives.

He stated that bringing Akpabio into the fold will automatically stop a situation where all four major seats in the country are being held under the control of Muslims.

Source: Legit.ng