Cracks In APC North-Central Governors’ Forum As AbdulRazaq Disowns Demand For Deputy Senate President Position

Barely 24 hours after a joint communique issued by the North-Central Governors’ Forum demanded that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, revisit its zoning for the National Assembly to accommodate the zone for the position of the deputy Senate president, Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has disowned the common position.

The governor was part of the group’s meeting on Monday night which issued a communique urging the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the APC to revisit the zoning arrangement.

The APC had announced the post of the Senate president and deputy for the Southsouth and Northwest while the speaker was announced for Northwest and Southeast respectively.

The decision effectively isolated the Northcentral.

It has been followed by agitations by aspirants for the leadership positions in the 10th National Assembly that would be inaugurated in June.

The governors of the Northcentral waded into the issue when they met alongside the aspirants for the principal positions from the zone on Monday night.

In the communique they issued, “The meeting reviewed the proposed zoning structure released and promised to reach out to the President-elect His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC National Working Committee to appeal for re-consideration of the zoning of the Presiding offices of the National Assembly as released by the NWC.

“The meeting discussed the zoning as released and raised reservation with the allocation of the Positions of the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 10th National Assembly to a particular geopolitical zone of the country.

“That the meeting resolved and agreed to fully utilize all necessary dialogue and consultations to resolving the NASS leadership issue, they all agreed to reach out to all major stakeholders for an amicable and acceptable zoning framework that will be all inclusive,” it said.

The meeting was also attended by
Abdullahi Sule, (Nassarawa); Simon Lalong (Plateau); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, Governor-elect, (Benue); Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, APC, Niger East and an aspirant; Rt.Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives (Aspirant) and Yusuf Gagdi, Reps Member (Aspirant).

But AbdulRazaq has claimed the forum did not take any decision on the raging zoning issue.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaiye, the governor said, “Media reports that we reject the APC position are therefore a stretch of our approach.

“They are not factual. We have our channels of communication and that is what we are exploring.

“We are party people and will not make any public statement or do anything that will rubbish our leadership or cause avoidable tension in the polity. That is not our way,” he said.