The zoning formula proposed by President-elect Bola Tinubu has been ratified by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite protests by some members of the party, Godswill Akpabio (South-south) and Barau Jibrin (North-west) have been selected for the positions of senate president and deputy senate president, while Tajudeen Abbas (North-west) and Ben Kalu (South-east) have been endorsed for the roles of speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
This decision was made by the APC without taking into consideration the complaints about the arrangement being unfairly skewed.
On Monday, a special meeting was held at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja where the NWC ratified the arrangement.
Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, announced the ratification in a briefing with journalists after the meeting.
During a prepared speech, Mr Morka disclosed that the zoning formula was agreed upon after a meeting between the party leadership and Mr Tinubu. He further explained that the report was considered and adopted by the party. Consequently, the party has excluded the North-central zone from the National Assembly leadership despite their protests.
Read the statement by APC NWC in full:
The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met today, Monday, May 8, 2023, to consider reports of consultations and meetings held with the President-Elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, other Party leaders and stakeholders on zoning arrangements for 10th National Assembly leadership positions.
The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met today, Monday, May 8, 2023, to consider reports of consultations and meetings held with the President-Elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, other Party leaders and stakeholders on zoning arrangements for 10th National Assembly leadership positions.
NW called for further and better consultation with necessary stakeholders in order to assure the support of the aspirants to the National Assembly leadership positions and members of the Party nationwide.
The zoning arrangement reported to the NWC is as follows:
SENATE:
- Senate President – South-South – Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom).
- Deputy Senate President – North West – Senator Barau Jubrin (Kano).
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
- Speaker, House of Representatives – North West – Hon. Abass Tajudeen (Kaduna)
- Deputy Speaker – South East – Hon. Ben Kalu (Abia)
We urge our party leaders, members and all Nigerians to continue to work for peace and progress of our country during and beyond the current period of leadership transition.
North-central APC members protest
While the NWC meeting was ongoing, a group of APC members staged a protest at the entrance of the party’s national secretariat, demanding the inclusion of the North-central in the zoning formula.
The group, under the umbrella of APC North-Central stakeholders, described the reported arrangement as outrageous.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Salihu Ibrahim said the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, cannot afford to allow the North-central to be marginalised.
“The party has not taken the North-central into consideration and it is outrageous. We the North-central have contributed largely to the development of APC and up to date we are still on it.
“Why is it that the National Assembly Speaker is something that elected president and the party under the watch of Abdullahi Adamu, who is even from the North-central will not wholeheartedly say the North-central should take. The party should zone it to us.”
Despite the protest, the NWC still ratified the zoning arrangement.
