President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday night, appealed to the All Progressives Congress Senators-elect to abide by the zoning arrangements announced by the National Working Committee of the ruling party ahead of next Tuesday’s inauguration of the 10th Senate.
The APC NWC had endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio from South-South for President of the Senate and Senator Jibrin Barau from North-West for Deputy Senate President.
But some of the APC lawmakers had voiced their opposition to the proposed zoning formula and vowed to pursue their own ambitions to contest the various positions for which the party had already announced its anointed candidates.
Tinubu while addressing over 40 APC Senators-elect led by Senator Akpabio at the Aso Rock Villa on Wednesday night, however, appealed to all APC Senators-elect to stick to the party’s zoning arrangement in electing their Presiding Officers.
A statement from Akpabio’s Media Team quoted Tinubu as saying during the meeting, “This is the right thing to do in support of the Renewed Hope agenda.
“At this point of our history and challenges facing us as a new administration, all hands must be on deck to salvage the unpalatable situation facing the nation. We must see the situation as a pan-Nigerian Project for the Executive and the Legislature to work out solutions to the challenges of the nation.
“The task ahead to finding solutions to the myriads of national problems cannot come from the Executive arm of government alone but by the working together of the Executive and the Legislature.”
The President also urged the Senators-elect present at the meeting to reach out and pass the appeal to other APC Senators-elect unavoidably absent to toe the party lines and shelve all personal ambition in favour of party programme and national interest.
“Talk to your colleagues that are not here to toe the party line and give the Renewed Hope agenda a chance to succeed. The elephant is big enough for all members and indeed Nigerians to have a share of the Renewed Hope in due course” he further said.
Speaking earlier during the meeting which lasted late into the night, Senator Akpabio, again, congratulated the President on the successful presidential inauguration, stating that since the party announced the zoning arrangements for the leadership of the National Assembly, majority of the APC Senators-elect under his leadership and Senator Barau had reached out to their colleagues and others elected on the platforms of the opposition political parties and extracted positive result and pledge of support from them.
The rescheduled meeting between President Tinubu and the APC Senators-elect dwelt on the need to ensure Executive-Legislature harmonious relationship and perfect the process of electing leadership of both Chambers of the National Assembly.