Yari, Jibrin urged to drop senate presidency ambition
Salihu Lukman, the national vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged Senators Abdulazeez Yari and Barau Jibrin to drop off the senate presidency race. He said only a southern Christian should be eligible for the post, in the spirit of fairness. The APC chieftain said it is disregard for Nigerians should the party install a northern Muslim as senate presidency, when it already have two Muslims as president and vice president.
According to him, it is “very compelling that the Senate President should come from either the South-South or South-East.”
Lukman urged the “party leaders from North-West” to “prevail” on Yari and Jibrin to forego their ambitions “in the overall interest of the unity and peaceful coexistence of the country.”
He added that either of the two could aspire to become “the Majority Leader of the Senate in line with the 1999 zoning formula in the Senate.”
Supporting Lukman’s position, the APC ‘s director of publicity, Bala Ibrahim, said, “Fairness demands that these aspirants step down. It will seek to give a semblance of inclusiveness and give everyone a sense of belonging. But the ultimate decision rests with the party which will not do anything injurious to its interest,”
Aside Jibrin and Yari, others who have indicated interest in the position are Senators Sani Musa (Niger East), Orji Kalu (Abia North), and GodsWill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom North-West ).
Others are Senators Osita Izunaso (Imo West), Peter Ndubuze (Imo North), Abdul’Aziz Yari (Zamfara West), and Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North).
