2023 : APC zones presidency to North-East, VP to South-South/South-West
By Amos Odhe.
Barring last minute changes, decision makers in the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have agreed on a zoning arrangement for the positions in party and government at national level, Century news update has learnt.
A dependable party source in Abuja said after initial hiccups, the North-East is favoured to produce the next presidential standard-bearer of the party. The South-South or South-West is said to have been listed for the running mate ticket. The Senate Presidency, said the source, is billed to return to the South-East, while the North-West is scheduled for the Speakership slot. Others are Deputy Senate President (North Central), Deputy Speaker (South South/South West), Senate Leader (North West), House Leader (South East), SGF (South West/South South).
On why the Senate President was zoned to the South-East, the source said, “the decision was reached since the national chairman of our party is from the North-Central geo-political zone. It is a balanced arrangement.”
The arrangement mirrors what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the ruling party in 1999 presented as a governance outlook with Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-West as President. His deputy then, Atiku Abubakar, is from Adamawa in North-East. Now-late Evan Enwerem, the first Senate President, was from the South East. The disgraced first Speaker, Salisu Buhari, is from Kano, North-West. Though Enwerem and Buhari were booted out of office for forgery, the slots remained in the two zones for the eight years Obasanjo and South West kept the Presidency.
Century news update learnt that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, is a frontline presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the North-East geo-political zone. He is said to be backed by prominent members of the party spearheaded by the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Recall Century news update reported that Governors – Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and Hope Uzodinma of Imo State – Friday led some senators to return the Presidential nomination forms for the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan. The forms were submitted at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Addressing journalists, the Imo State Governor Senator Hope Uzodinma said; “Like you know most of us here are from the national assembly, some serving some are non -serving. Particularly, like me I left the senate on sabbatical to go and contest election in Imo State and I’m on borrowed status in Imo State as the governor.
“Today, we are here in solidarity to accompany our leader, the Senate President, to submit his duly completed forms and we have submitted the forms.”
On why he thinks the Senate President is the best for the job, Uzodinma said; “In the Police, it is called esprit de corps.”
