10th NASS: North-Central must get presiding position, Senator-elect insists

“We want either the position of the Deputy Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

News Agency of Nigeria • May 20, 2023

Ahmed Wadada, Senator-elect

Senator-elect Aliyu Wadada (SDP-Nasarawa) has said the North-Central caucus of the National Assembly will ensure that one of its own emerges a presiding officer in the 10th Assembly.

He said this on Friday in Abuja while speaking with reporters on the sideline of the just concluded induction of senators-elect and members-elect of the 10th Assembly.

Mr Wadada said North-Central would not be left out of the positions of the presiding officers of the national assembly.

“We want either the position of the Deputy Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“We don’t want to rock the boat. What we said is that if for some reasons, the position for deputy senate president that we have always canvassed for will not be conceded to us as a zone, then we should be given the speakership position.

“This is because we can’t be left empty handed. It is not fair, it is not just, it is not rational. There is nothing right about it, for a single geopolitical zone to have two presiding officers, while another zone, like north-central remains empty.

“It is unacceptable. North-Central cannot, will not, and shall not be left out, in the face of representatives like us.

“We will always strive and ensure we get what belongs to us or what we deserve.

“We had a press briefing where we clearly stated our position; our governors met with aspirants of North-Central extraction. We had discussion; efforts are really on to see that north-central gets what it deserves.

“This is because North-Central has paid its due in stabilising the politics of our polity long before now.

He further said that there was no complication associating with the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidates for Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin

“My being around Akpabio/Barau does not change my position as a senator from north-central. Akpabio is south-south, Barau is north-west, I, Wadada, I am North-Central and North-West is all north.

“So there is no complication there. We have not conceded. My being with Akpabio does not mean the north- central caucus has conceded,” he said.

On the strength of the minority caucus of the national assembly, the lawmaker said that it is not about the number but it was about the quality of the members.

“The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is the second oldest political party in Nigeria. It is very peaceful and accommodating,” he added.

(NAN)

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