The Senator-elect representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko, has said any attempt by the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu to pocket the legislature will be resisted.
Nwoko stated this on Monday while reacting to the zoning arrangement for the 10th National Assembly by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
OsunDaily News reported that the APC NWC nominated the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, as the Senate President, and Tajudeen Abass for the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 10th National Assembly.
Also, the ruling party nominated Senator Barau Jibrin as the Deputy Senate President and Hon. Ben Kalu as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Briefing journalists after the NWC meeting on Monday, the spokesman of the ruling party, Felix Morka, said the party leadership reached a compromise on the zoning arrangement.
Reacting to the development in an interview with journalists, Nwoko said the majority of the senators-elect are not in support of the decision of the ruling party, adding that the legislature must be independent.
He said: โThe overwhelming majority of the senators-elect are of the opinion that we must be independent. That is the only way we can take the executive to account. The parliament is not meant to be pocketed by the executive. There are some of us that are already well-established before we came here. So, we are not pushovers. We are very independent-minded.โ