A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists, CNCRA, has asked the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to obey the calls for his resignation in the interest of equity, fairness and justice in power sharing in the incoming government.
The group made the demand in a statement signed by its Convener, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, and the Secretary, Engr. Sina Akadiri, which was made available to journalists in Abuja on Sunday.
The CNCRA explained that Adamu’s exit as APC National Chairman would ensure power balancing in the incoming Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress-led government, saying that his resignation would also be a great opportunity for the Party to assuage the feelings of Christians towards the same faith arrangement in the recently concluded Presidential Election.
The CNCRA commended the National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman, for demanding the resignation of Adamu, arguing that the National Chairman should quit the stage honourably in a bid to balance the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima.
The group said “Adamu should toe the path of honour and statesmanship by tendering his letter of resignation after the Governorship and House Assembly elections. His action would be welcome and commended by the Christians and it will also pave the way for the emergence of a ranking Senator from North Central, to become either the President or Deputy President of the Senate in the forthcoming 10th National Assembly.”
The CNCRA said that it acknowledged the immense contributions of Adamu and the North Central geo-political zone towards the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections, stressing that the ruling Party should compensate the region by ensuring that a dependable, loyal and most ranking Senator emerges as either the President or Deputy President of the Senate in the 10th National Assembly.
Part of the statement read, “As right activists, we have watched and observed with keen interest, the recent political developments in the country and have decided to add our voice to the raging controversies over the inbalances in the polity as it affects the structure of top political offices.
“With the emergence of the President- elect and his vice from the South West and North-East geopolitical zones of Nigeria, it will be fair and just, for the APC to zone the National Assembly’s presiding officers’ positions to the North-Central, North-West, South-East and the South-South geo-political zones.
“In terms of marginalisation, the popular opinion in Nigeria is that the South-East and the North-Central have not produced either the nation’s President or Vice President since the return of democracy in 1999.
“The South-West produced the President between 1999 and 2007 with a North-East man as Vice president. In 2007, the North West produced the President while a South-South man was made the vice president for a four year tenure, expected to terminate in 2011.
“However, the South-South Vice President had to complete the tenure of his principal who died in 2010. He was later elected president from 2011 to 2015. The North-West took over power again from 2015 to date with a South-West man as the vice president.
“It is now clear that the race for the position of the Senate Presidency should be between the North Central and the South East which has never produced either the President or vice president. We therefore, urge the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, to step aside as a man of honour, and lead the campaign for the emergence of a presiding officer of the Senate from the North Central.
“We have carefully studied all the ranking Senators-elect from the North-Central and we have discovered that Senator Sani Musa, from the Niger East Senatorial District, is eminently qualified and should be considered as a Senate Presiding officer based on his competence and loyalty to the party.
“The ranking Senator, who is the Chairman Committee on Senate Services, has garnered enough parliamentary leadership experiences having worked closely with the incumbent president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, in the last four years. He has no criminal record hanging on his neck and he is well loved and respected by his colleagues both within the National Assembly and the APC family in general.
“We believe that he would offer the country his best and do everything possible to stabilise the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, through effective parliamentary legislation and oversight that would curb revenue leakages and tackle insecurity among others.”
