President Bola Tinubu has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators-elect to respect the zoning of leadership positions announced by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Gatekeepers News reports that the President’s appeal is coming ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Senate on Tuesday.
According to the Akpabio/Jibrin Media Team, President Tinubu made the plea at a meeting with APC Senators-Elect on Wednesday night at the State House Conference Center.
Last month, the ruling APC zoned the position of Senate President to the South-South with Senator Godswill Akpabio as the preferred candidate and Senator Jubrin Barau from North West preferred as Deputy Senate President.
President Tinubu, while addressing the over 40 APC Senators-elect led by Senator Akpabio at the Aso Rock Villa Wednesday night, appealed to all APC Senators-elect to toe the line of the party’s zoning arrangement in electing their Presiding Officers adding that “this is the right thing to do in support of the Renewed Hope agenda” of his administration.
Tinubu said, “At this point of our history and challenges facing us as a new administration, all hands must be on deck to salvage the unpalatable situation facing the nation. We must see the situation as a pan-Nigerian Project for the Executive and the Legislature to work out solutions to the challenges of the nation,”
Tinubu said, “The task ahead to finding solutions to the myriads of national problems cannot come from the Executive arm of government alone but by the working together of the Executive and the Legislature.”
The President added that Senators-elect should reach out and pass the appeal to other APC Senators-elect unavoidably absent to toe the party line and put a leash on all personal ambition in favour of the party programme and national interest.
He said, “Talk to your colleagues that are not here to toe the party line and give the Renewed Hope agenda a chance to succeed. The elephant is big enough for all members and indeed Nigerians to have a share of the Renewed Hope in due course.”
At the meeting, Akpabio congratulated the President on the successful presidential inauguration.
He said that since the party announced the zoning arrangements for the leadership of the National Assembly, the majority of the party’s Senators-elect, led by him and Senator Jibrin, have reached out to other APC Senators-elect and those from the opposition political parties with positive result and pledge of support.
