Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will today, May 15, ruminate on the tussle for the National Assembly leadership.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of the intense lobby of some governors to insist on the retention of the zoning arrangement earlier made by the party.
Politics Nigeria recalled that the Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who doubles as the chairman of the Southern Governors Forum had earlier faulted the zoning arrangement of APC National Working Committee (NWC), describing it as unworkable, skewed and reinforcing injustice and enhancing inequity.
APC had zoned the Senate President position (South South, Godswill Akpabio), Deputy Senate President (North West, Senator Jibrin Barau); Speaker (North West, Hon Tajudeen Abbas); Deputy Speaker (South East, Benjamin Kalu).
Even though the APC national chairman Abdullahi Adamu hinted last week that the zoning arrangement would be revisited, after a series of protests by aggrieved aspirants, some party stakeholders have insisted on the retention of the zoning arrangement.
Meanwhile, there were reports that fresh overtures were made to some of the aggrieved aspirants for the Speaker of the House of Representatives to accept the deputy speaker position after they had earlier turned down ministerial offers.
The aggrieved aspirants, popularly called G-6, are, Deputy speaker Hon. Ahmed Wase, Hon. Aliyu Betara, Hon. Sada Soli, Hon. Miriam Onuhoa, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, and Hon Sani Jaji.
However, LEADERSHIP Newspaper reports that a source close to the aggrieved aspirants, who pleaded anonymity, said, “We are very confident that when the APC governors meet tomorrow (today), they will offer quality advice and proper solutions to the lingering crisis.
“The party appears to have forgotten that at no time had any system at the level of the President of ruling party leadership endorsed a particular speakership candidate successfully. Any steps toward that had always failed, and this won’t be different.
“Quite honestly, more than 80 percent of the governors feel the zoning was wrongly done without proper understanding and consultation, as the national chairman admitted.
“But the issue is that some of them are too scared to talk, especially when they hear Gbajabiamila will be chief of staff. Only the Ondo State governor has spoken, and we commend him for what he did. He has really nailed it on the head.
“So, as we wait patiently, we are not losing our guards because these people are desperate to break our ranks. Several attempts have been made to intimidate us, but they always failed.”
The source further revealed that emissaries were sent to the aggrieved aspirants to allow Hon Abbas get the position while the G6 group nominates someone from the South East as deputy.