Former Zamfara State Governor and Senator-elect representing Zamfara West, Abdulaziz Yari has given further explanations regarding his stand against the zoning of the Senate President seat for the 10th National Assembly by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership.
Yari on Tuesday insisted that it would not be okay for the President, Chief Justice of the Federation, and Senate President (leaders of the three arms of government) to all be from the South at the same time as this does not represent the federal character principle.
He added that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) did not consult widely before announcing Godswill Akpabio as the preferred candidate for Senate President and Jibrin Barau as the Deputy Senate President candidate.
According to the former Governor, the party can only make recommendations or zone the position to a particular region but it is actually the constitutional duty of the lawmakers to choose their leaders.
OsunDaily News reports he made his views known during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday.
He said, “Right from the beginning, the party has a tradition of widening the consultation: meeting with the president and all the members of the national assembly; because it is not the party’s business but that of the country.
“But the party did not do any of the above, and what we saw in the media was that they had two meetings, and we were given names to adopt. That is not adequate enough. Because all of them are just advisory bodies, the constitution gives the right to choose national assembly leaders to only the parliamentarians. The party can zone, but it is left for the individual to accept or reject.
“APC has zoned and now we are asking them questions: On what basis? Have you taken into cognizance the federal character? The president, chief justice of the federation, and national assembly chairman –all the three arms of government — are in one place? The chief justice is from Oyo state, Tinubu is from Lagos state, and Akpabio is from Akwa Ibom, all at the same time. And the next chief justice is also going to be from the South-West.”
