10th NASS Leadership: Yari, Kalu, G-6 Remain Adamant Despite Tinubu’s Plea

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, top contenders for principal offices of the federal legislature have intensified campaigns against the preferred candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) .
This is in utter disdain to the appeal by President Bola Tinubu to the APC aspirants in the leadership race of both chambers to support the candidates endorsed by the governing party.
The Tide source gathered on Saturday that the opposing camps in both chambers continued their push for the top seats, setting the stage for an intense race for the positions.
The Senate, it was learnt, remained divided between the Democratic and Stability groups who are still pushing to ensure one in their camps emerges chairman of the National Assembly.
In the House of Representatives, the aggrieved G-6 aspirants are poised to unveil their consensus candidates in opposition to the APC’s preferred candidates.
But intrigues surrounding the contest for the top legislative seats took a twist on Saturday as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged plot to arrest members who are opposed to the APC’s zoning arrangement.
This comes as Vice President Kashim Shettima had urged the lawmakers-elect to place the interest of the nation above personal interests, as they choose their leadership, stressing that the nation’s stability should be utmost on their minds as they convene on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC had zoned the Senate president position to the South-South, specifically endorsing former Niger Delta Affairs minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio, as its candidate for Senate president position, with Senator Barau Jibrin from the North West as his anointed deputy.
In the House of Representatives, the Speaker position was zoned to the North West, with Hon Tajudeen Abbas as the preferred candidate, and Hon Benjamin Kalu from the South East as his deputy.
In the Senate former Zamfara governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; former Abia State governor, Orji Uzo Kalu, and Senator Osita Izunaso are strongly opposed to the party’s choice, while the G-6 aggrieved aspirants have also disagreed with the party in the House of Representatives.
There has been a raging opposition to the party’s zoning arrangement with particular emphasis that two presiding officers in the National Assembly cannot emerge from one geopolitical zone.
Tinubu had on Thursday night at a meeting with National Assembly members-elect insisted that the choice of Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jibrin for Senate president and deputy Senate president, as well as Abbas and Kalu for Speaker and deputy Speaker stands.
But as the Tuesday, June 13, inauguration of the 10th Assembly inches closer, the G-6 members have remained adamant.