NASS Leadership: Akpabio Backed for Senate President Position 

As the quest for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly intensifies, Senator Godswill Akpabio has said his emergence as the Senate President lies in the hands of his colleagues.

A zoning template for the position of major officials of the 10th National Assembly has been adopted by the National Working Committee NWC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC which placed Akpabio as the preferred candidate.

 In Abuja earlier on Monday, Akpabio discussed the zoning formula on the sidelines of the ongoing induction exercise for the House and Senate candidates.

He said: “It is a normal thing for people to move in one direction or the other. I am not worried about anything because I believe that the will of God will be done. In terms of being the Senate President, it is in the hands of my colleagues, the Senators elected. They will take the decision and the will of God will be done.

“The lawmakers are the ones choosing the Senate President. But I believe that there should be cooperation between the lawmakers and the party. Once the leadership is out in place, there should be cooperation between the leadership and the administration”.

Meanwhile, the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs has received the support of no less than 72 retired senators to serve as the 10th Senate’s president.

Recall that Akpabio was initially tipped as the next senate president by the governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Speaking on the subject of zoning as well, Hon. Kalu (APC, Abia), the party’s candidate for deputy speaker of the House, claimed that a cohesive house will help president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu realize his goals for the nation.

“A more consolidated House is better for the incoming administration if the objectives set by it are to be achieved. We must work as a formidable front towards confronting the hydra-headed problems confronting us as Nigerians.

“In a democratic clime like ours, the ruling party plays a key role in setting up the structure of government. For some of us who believe in the supremacy of the party, we will always tag along with the position of the party. My ambition was to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is the party that gave me the platform to come to the House of Representatives.

“Consider the reasons I advanced for wanting to be in that position which is the absence of a southeasterner in that position for 40 years and the fact that we have men of capacity and competence that will be able to handle the responsibility of that mandate effectively. But at the end of the day, the decision will be reached by the party that gave us the platform to be winners and be here.

“I heard that a decision has been taken by the party and we are waiting for that pronouncement. We are also ready to go along with what the party wants in the spirit of being a true party man. That is the only way we can have cohesion in our party, the only way our party will be respected,” he said.