10th NASS: Tinubu rejects push to microzone senate presidency to South South

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rejected a push to micro-zone the senate presidency of the incoming 10th National Assembly to the south-south geopolitical zone of the country.

Tinubu reportedly insisted that the office must be openly zoned to the entire southern region with no particular preference to any zone.

According to Vanguard, the development formed the details of what transpired at the Wednesday meeting with Tinubu, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and some National Assembly members.

It was learnt that Tinubu out rightly rejected proposals made by some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators for the Senate Presidency to be micro-zoned to the South-South.

Vanguard reported that a reliable source told who pleaded anonymity said the President-elect reasoned that since the members of the party supported the zoning of the presidency slot that produced him to the South, it will not be logical for the same people to now adopt a micro-zoning system.

The source said that Tinubu insisted that zoning the senate presidency to the south will give all the qualified aspirants from South East and South South opportunity go into a fair contest for senators to make their choice, the same way APC delegates made their choice of a presidential candidate out of the lot.

It was also learnt that Tinubu cautioned the leadership against thrown the party into a crisis, directing an amendment to the NWC’s recommendations.

“The plot to have a sole South South candidate by zoning the office to the zone failed flat with President-elect who, in his wisdom, rejected pressures by some members of the party leadership and the Southwest senators for the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South South.

“There’s no truth in all that was reported in the media that the President and the NWC have settled for South South. The President insisted that the position should be zoned to the South region”, the source said.

Meanwhile, a senator-elect who didn’t want his name in print said that the majority of members-elect from South South zone amongst other senators have queued behind the current Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who hails from the South-East geopolitical zone for the office.