A group has asked aspirants for the position of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly from the North central part of the country to withdraw from the race following the appointment of former Benue State governor, Senator George Akume, as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), by President Bola Tinubu.
The group, North Central Progressive for Development (NCPFD) has been at the vanguard of zoning of the position of the presiding officers to the North Central part of the country.
Lawmakers from Northcentral region jostling for the position of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly include Senator Sani Musa, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, and the lawmaker representing Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Yusuf Gagdi.
Wase and Gagdi are eyeing the position of the Speaker while Musa is angling to emerge as the President of the Senate of the 10th National Assembly.
However, in a statement at the weekend, NCPFD’s Chairman Ibrahim Tajo said with the appointment of Akume by Tinubu, those angling to lead the National Assembly from the region should withdraw.
The group noted that the region already had the position of the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
“To the glory of God, our zone now has two key figures in the government. Aside from the SGF, another prominent leader of our zone in the person of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, has been the National Chairman of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the last 15 months.
“While Senator Adamu controls the affairs of our party through the instrumentality of the National Working Committee (NWC), our brand-new SGF is the engine room of Tinubu‘s administration. Thus, President Tinubu has wiped away our tears in the Northcentral
“To whom much is given, much is expected. With this, we need to double our support to the President to enable him to deliver his pact with Nigerians as captured in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Since 1999, when the country returned to civil rule, six persons have been appointed as the SGF, none of them came from the Northcentral while the Northeast has produced four occupants of the office, namely: Babagana Kingibe, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Babachir David Lawal, and the immediate past occupant of the office, Boss Mustapha.
“The Southeast and the Southsouth had produced one occupant of the office in the persons of Anyim Pius Anyim and Ufot Ekaette, respectively. This is the first time that the position has been given to us.
“For our three brothers who are in the race for the National Assembly leadership, it is time for them to withdraw from the race, in line with the decision of the President and our party. Don’t rock the boat. We have been rewarded,” the statement said.