By Henry Umoru
Strong indications have emerged that ahead of the zoning of offices of presiding officers for the National Assembly, crisis looms in the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC as calls for the immediate resignation from office by the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu heighten.
A group under the aegis of a of Civil Society Organisations of Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists (CNCRA), has asked the National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to as a matter of urgency, obey the calls for his resignation in the interest of equity, fairness and justice, just as it said that his resignation would assuage the feelings of Christians.
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The group in a statement signed on Sunday in Abuja by its Convener, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, and Secretary, Engr. Sina Akadiri said that Adamu’s exit as APC National Chairman would ensure power balancing in the incoming Bola Tinubu ‘s All Progressives Congress-led government.
According to the rights activists, Adamu’s resignation would also be a great opportunity for the All Progressives Congress to assuage the feelings of Christians towards the same faith arrangement of the party in the recently concluded Presidential Election.
CNCRA’s call is coming ahead of the Monday’s meeting of Senators- elect and members of the House of Representatives- elect with the National Working Committee, NWC of the APC at the Banquet Hall, Aso Rock Villa, Abuja at 2pm to brainstorm on which zone gets the President of the Senate, the Speaker, House of Representatives; the Deputy President of the Senate; the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives and the eight principal positions in both the Upper and Lower Chambers.
The group has however hailed the National Vice Chairman, Northwest of APC, Salihu Mohammed Lukman on his call for power balancing in incoming APC-Led Government and his call for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman.
Recall that Lukman had on Friday advocated for the replacement of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu with a Christian, as part of measures to balance the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu whose vice is of the same faith as him.
Lukman in a lengthy article titled “APC Internal Dynamics and the Future of Democracy” and dedicated to the National Welfare Secretary of the party, Barr. Friday Nwosu who died on Thursday, equally said the National Secretary, Otunba Iyiola Omisore should be removed as his emergence has caused deep divisions in the Osun state APC.
The CNCRA which further argued that the National Chairman should be quit the stage honourably in a bid to balance the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, said “Adamu should toe the path of honour and statesmanship by tendering his letter of resignation after the Governorship and House Assembly elections.
“His action would be welcomed and commended by the Christians and it will also pave the way for the emergence of a ranking senator from North Central, to become either the President or Deputy President of the Senate in the forthcoming 10th National Assembly.”
The right activists noted that they were elated when they heard about the patriotic call by Lukman urging the former governor of Nasarawa State to sacrifice his position in the interest of peace, unity and harmony.
The CNCRA said it acknowledged the immense contributions of Adamu and the North Central geopolitical zone towards the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
It noted that the ruling APC should compensate the region by making sure that a dependable, loyal and most ranking senator emerge as either the President or Deputy Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.
The statement read, ” As right activists, we have watched and observed with keen interest, the recent political developments in the country and have decided to add our voice to the raging controversies over the seemingly inbalaces in the polity as it affects the structure of top political offices.
“With the emergence of the president- elect and his vice from the South West and North-East geopolitical zones of Nigeria, it will be fair and just, for the APC to zone the National Assembly’s presiding officers’ positions to the North-Central, North-West, South-East and the South-South geopolitical zones.
“In terms of marginalisation, the popular opinion in Nigeria is that the South-East and the North-Central have not produced either the nation’s president or vice president since the return of democracy in 1999.
“The South-West produced the President between 1999 and 2007 with a North-East man as vice president.
“In 2007, the North West produced the President while a South-South man was made the vice president for a four year tenure, expected to terminate in 2011.
“However, the South-South vice president had to complete the tenure of his principal who died in 2010. He was later elected president from 2011 to 2015.
“The North-West took over power again from 2015 to date with a South-West man as the vice president.
“It is now clear that the race for the position of the Senate Presidency should be between the North Central and the South East which has never produced either the President or vice president.
“We therefore urge the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, to step aside as a man of honour, and lead the campaign for the emergence of a presiding officer of the Senate from the North Central.
“We also urge members of the National Working Committee of the APC to reciprocate the immense contributions of Adamu to the party’s success so far by supporting the emergence of a presiding officer from his geopolitical zone.
“The CNCRA hope that Senator Abdullahi Adamu will demonstrate statesmanship by offering to resign his appointment in order to maintain his highly respected honour and integrity.
“We have carefully studied all the ranking senators-elect from the North-Central and we have discovered that Senator Sani Musa, from the Niger East Senatorial District, is eminently qualified and should be considered as a Senate presiding officer based on his competence and loyalty to the party.
“The ranking Senator, who is the Chairman Committee on Senate Services, has garnered enough parliamentary leadership experiences having worked closely with the incumbent president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, in the last four years.
“He has no criminal record hanging on his neck and he is well loved and respected by his colleagues both within the National Assembly and the APC family in general.
“We believe that he would offer the country his best and do everything possible to stabilise the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, through effective parliamentary legislation and oversight that would curb revenue leakages and tackle insecurity among others.”
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
