Following speculations regarding the individuals, who will assume the positions of Senate President and Speaker in the 10th National Assembly, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the leadership positions should not be determined by sectional or tribal affiliations.
This is even as the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that he has no any preferred candidate for the leadership positions of the legislative Houses to be inaugurated as the 10th National Assembly in June.
Tinubu was represented at the meeting by the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, who read the latter’s speech.
National chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, disclosed this on Monday when the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC met with lawmakers-elect on the platform of the party at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Adamu, the party was not comfortable with the tone of some persons seeking the leadership positions in the next National Assembly.
He said, “the news media and especially the social media are full of speculations of some of you jostling for leadership positions in the National Assembly.
“This is not unusual. People have the right to struggle for positions of leadership for which they believe they are eminently qualified.
“But we, in the National Working Committee of the party are not comfortable with the tone adopted by those who seek those offices. Those offices are not tribal or sectional rights and must not be so portrayed.
“We would like to offer a word of caution to all of you in this regard. It may be good to start early but sometimes when you start too early you jump the gun and court unintended consequences that may cause nasty divisions in the party and thus affect its health.”
He further stated that leadership positions at the national level are a delicate matter and must not be approached with levity or lack of seriousness.
“It may be good to start early but it is wiser to be patient. Some of you may recall what happened to the party and the National Assembly in 2015 when some members of the national legislature chose not to wait for the decision of the President and the party in sharing those offices.
“It created bad blood within the party and between the executive and the legislature. I urge us not to regress,” Adamu warned.
The party’s national chairman added that the president-elect and the party leadership will make appropriate consultations in working out a formula for sharing the offices.
“I assure you that whatever sharing formula the party and the President-elect arrive at will be fair, just, equitable and satisfy the majority of our members,” he added.
While admitting that the February 25 elections were not perfect, Adamu said they, however, passed the credibility test.
He said for the first time in living memory in respect of Nigeria’s elections, there were no allegations of vote-buying and outcry over all the other ills associated with the conduct of elections.
“It is fair and honourable to admit that the February 25 elections were not perfect. We did not set out to conduct perfect elections. World history has no instances of perfect elections.
“Like all other democratic nations, we set out to conduct free, fair, and credible elections. This we did.
“I am proud to say we achieved this feat and delivered on the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari to the people. For the first time in living memory in respect of our elections, there were no allegations of vote-buying and outcry over all the other ills associated with the conduct of our elections.
“Rigging may not be dead, but it has been decapitated. Our democracy is maturing, and we are maturing with it,” Adamu stated.
He pointed out that from the results of the February 25, 2023 general elections announced so far by the electoral umpire, INEC, the APC won the presidency clean and clear, and a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly.
“We chose not to rout the other political parties because they are our partners in our national progress and development. I look forward to the governorship and State House of Assembly elections on March 18. I am sure the results will make our victory even sweeter,” he added.
