Despite efforts by President Bola Tinubu to soothe upset lawmakers-elect prior to the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, there are signs that ex-Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, and former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, are still holding firm.
A source connected to the Chief Whip of the 9th Senate disclosed to Daily Trust why Kalu and Yari remain steadfast, despite Tinubu’s meeting with the lawmakers-elect on Thursday.
OsunDaily News had previously reported that Tinubu convened a gathering with lawmakers-elect at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.
During the meeting, Tinubu expressed his preference for Godswill Akpabio to be Senate President and Tajudeen Abbas to take on the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The source while speaking on Yari and Kalu’s stand said, “It is not about them. It is about the people they represent. Tinubu is from the South West; the vice president is from the North East. How do you expect the North West to react to this faulty arrangement of taking the Senate presidency to South-South”
Another source close to Yari, who is also a senator and was at the meeting with the president, said, “Honestly, there is no going back. It is too late to appease Senator Yari to back out from the race.
“Of course, we listen to the president. He spoke at length including balancing the offices; the issue of having a Muslim president and a Muslim vice president and therefore the need to have a Christian Senate president.
“Some of us are not convinced by this analogy; we are talking about the legislature. It is about allowing the 109 senators who have equal status in the eye of the law to select those that would lead them.
“We would certainly support the president to achieve his lofty dreams for Nigeria but we want him to hand off everything that has to do with the National Assembly.”
