The National Vice Chairman, North-West, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, says any attempt to allow a Muslim to become the President of the 10th Senate will be insensitive and injurious to the unity of the country.

Lukman stressed that the APC must not allow a Muslim to succeed the incumbent Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, following the election victory of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, who are both Muslims.

The APC Vice Chairman said this via a statement issued on Monday, April 3, 2023.

He said: “Given that we already have two Muslims occupying the highest positions of President and Vice President, any attempt to allow another Muslim to aspire for the position of Senate President, who is the number three highest-ranking officer in government will be insensitive, injurious to the unity and peaceful co-existence of the country and damage the electoral viability of our party.

“To avert this, and as a party envisioned to be progressive will require activation of wider consultative process and negotiations using our constitutional structures, especially the NEC so that decisions taken will be binding on all members, including the aspiring candidates.

“Being a progressive party specifically requires dynamism, actions, and improvements on how things are managed. Dynamism will require acknowledgement of the realities facing us a nation and as a party vested with the responsibility of providing leaders for the country for another four years, based on which we are able to initiate proposals.

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“One of such realities is the existing ethnic and religious tension in the country. Our proposals should seek to improve on previous experiences of leadership formation during the 9th and 10th Assembly.”

Lukman, who is a member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), stated that the President of the 10th Senate should come from the South-South or South-East region of the country, adding that the Speaker of the House of Representatives should be zoned to North-West.

“I want to restate my position that the leadership profile to emerge for the country on May 29, 2023, is already taking the coloration of the leadership of the country in 1999 with a President from South-West and Vice President from North-East.

“Unlike in 1999, we have two Muslims as President and Vice President. It is therefore very compelling that the Senate President should come from either the South-South or South-East. And since the North-West produced more votes to give our party the victory in the 2023 Presidential election, the position of Speaker House of Representatives should be zoned to North-West in line with what obtained in 1999.

“I want to specifically note that two respected Senators-elect from North-West have made public declaration their aspirations for the position of Senate President. These are His Excellency Abdulaziz Yari and Sen. Barau Jibrin. The North-West has been known for its commitment to progressive politics.

“Our Governors and other party leaders from the zone were unwaveringly progressive during the contest to produce Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of our party for the 2023 elections. They were forthright in ensuring that nothing is done to threaten the unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria, based on which they stood for power shift to the Southern part of the country.

“Now that power has shifted to the Southern part of the country, as a region, we equally have the responsibility to regulate the conduct of all our Senators-elect from the North-West, including the two Senators-elect Abdulaziz Yari and Barau Jibrin to withdraw their aspiration for the Senate President.

“All party leaders from North-West must prevail on these leaders to, in the overall interest of the unity and peaceful coexistence of the country withdraw their aspirations to contest the position of Senate President for the 10th Senate. At the most, they should aspire for the position of Majority Leader of the Senate in line with the 1999 zoning formula in the Senate,” the APC Vice Chairman added.

Lukman further urged Tinubu to immediately intervene to restore constitutional order in the management of the APC’s affairs, noting that it will be a mockery to continue to bear the name progressive and continue to run affairs of the party “based on the personal discretion of the National Chairman and National Secretary”.

“Asiwaju Tinubu cannot afford to assume office with the baggage of being a leader of an autocratic and retrogressive APC, which is insensitive to ethnic and religious tension in the country, largely compounded by our inability to regulate the conduct of our Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect.

“Everything must be done to return our party to its founding vision of engendering progressive politics in the country, which is about equitable distribution of power and resources in the country,” he added.

The Star