10th NASS Leadership: Disquiet Over Zoning Arrangements as Middle belt Members-elect insist on Independence of Legislature

The last is yet to be heard of the zoning arrangements proposed by the APC as more Members Elect have continued to reject the plan in his entirety.

Recall that the All Progressive Congress(APC) zoned the Speakership and Deputy position to the Northwest and Southsouth, respectively, while the Senate President position and Deputy were thrown to the Southsouth and Northwest.

The announcement of the arrangement threw the party into a serious conversation within the week, with party members threatening to boycott the decision of the party.

One of the contenders for the Speakership position, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, while rejecting the plan, had called out the party chairman, Sen. Adamu Abdullahi, reminding him the National Assembly is an arm of government that is independent and must be allowed to function as such.

Hon. Gagdi stressed that members should be allowed to pick someone they are free and comfortable with to work with and not someone who will become a rubber stamp for the executive.

Similarly, members elect from the middle belt have joined their voice in support of the call made by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi.

Hon. Jeremiah Umoru, a member elect from Nasarawa State, over the weekend called on Sen. Abdullahi and leaders of the party to desist from going ahead with the zoning plan as new and returning members are in one accord over the rejection of the proposal by the party.

Another member elect, Hon. Terseer Ugbor from Benue State, commenting on the development, said a good number of opposition members and some APC members have concluded plans to go against the decision of the party and advised its leaders to engage with Members-elect to avoid a repeat of the 7th and 8th National Assembly leadership crisis.

He said the National Chairman must remember that the legislative arm of government is a serious arm of government and the leadership positions must not be perceived as a rubber stamp by members of the public as this will erode trust in the 10th National Assembly.

He further stressed that the argument for rewarding a zone with the leadership positions falls flat as five North Central states delivered for the APC and should be rewarded for the efforts.

Hon. Terseer said he sees a divided house going into the June 13th inauguration of the National Assembly should the leadership of the APC fail to effectively engage other Speakership aspirants.

Recall that the opposition parties combined to form a majority of members in the 10th Assembly and are determined to support various candidates for Speaker who are all eminently qualified.