Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th Senate June, Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East) declared Tuesday that the National Executive of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) would address the issue of religion balancing in the zoning formula to be used for election of presiding officers.
Musa made the declaration while fielding questions from journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja.
He said the Muslim – Muslim ticket used by the party to win the presidential election, must be balanced at the configuration of leadership of the 10th National Assembly for unity of the country.
He said: “This is a real ambush. Why don’t you wait till when I will make my declaration, but since you decide to ask me, I will say, there is no office that deserves to be zoned to the North Central than the Office of the Senate President. But as a party loyalist, and having an interaction with the party leadership before the governorship and House of Assembly elections at the Presidential Villa, the National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu requested that we all keep our intentions until when the party decides to release the zoning formula.
“Be that as it may, and as we can all see that the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which I am sure will be addressed, we will cue in and decide to make our declaration.
“I would not want to pre-empt the party, I will wait for the decision of the party; whatever is the interest of the North Central as one of the geopolitical zones that gave the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the highest votes. If you look at the differences in the votes we gave to APC and the ones we gave to PDP, we have the largest.
“I do know there will be nothing less than the Deputy Senate President because that is what will be fair to us.”
He, however, said his ambition is to run for Senate Presidency and use the office to collaborate with the executive in turning things around for the good of the country.
“Every human being has ambition. I intend to come in order to save our Constitution and democracy in this country. You are all witnesses to what is going on in this country. Imbalances in this country.
“Our fore fathers since independence did it in such a way that the future generations will come together and live as one. So, there is no need for me not to vie for this position and when I come in, I am going to strengthen the administration.
“There is a high rate of inflation with 2 digits, unemployment, insecurity is there, the value of naira has gone so down. You can imagine what is happening with our naira.
“It shouldn’t happen in a country like Nigeria. We are supposed to be the most advanced economy in Nigeria, but alas! we are where we are today for reasons best known to us all.
“The institution that will serve as antidote to strong policies that will unite this country for prosperity is the National Assembly and the National Assembly needs presiding servants, those that will feel the feelings of Nigerians from the streets.
“But as I earlier said, if for the sake of religion balancing and unity of the country , Senate Presidency is not zoned to North Central , Deputy President of the Senate should be given.”
Kalu woos Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday, met behind closed doors with Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Kalu revealed that he officially informed the president of his intention to run for the position of the Senate President.
According to him, if the position is zoned to the South East by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) it will stimulate peace in the country.
Kalu, a former governor of Abia state, argued that though the zone might not have voted for the President-elect, Sen. Bola Tinubu at the recently concluded presidential election, making him the Senate President would bring peace and honour to the country.
Kalu equally disclosed that he discussed the stability of the ruling party with the president.
According to him, he suggested to the president to take over the position of the APC’s Board of Trustees (BoT) immediately after handing over to the President-elect on May 29.
“The party should bring back our Board of Trustees or something that looks like it, so that Mr President will be Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party so that every four or five months, he will come and see how the party is doing.
“We cannot just leave the party empty, it was done in the young days of the APC so that the President will still be part of the conscience of the party.
”We will have somebody to run to when we have problems in the party because it was just God that saved our party, that is the truth.
“God saved our party because the quarrel inside the party was so much, the rancour is so much. It’s just God that saved this party.
“So, we need a man like President Buhari to be aside, every three, four months, we’ll go and drag him from Daura and he will settle party matters, we’ll put him back, he goes back there and continues looking after his cattle and rice, and all the rest of them.
“I’m not yet ready to look after my palm kernel, I have more time to go before I start going to look after my palm kernel,” he said.