Ahead of the 10th National Assembly inauguration, the Arewa New Agenda (ANA) has said it will be unfair for a Northern Muslim to be considered for the post of the Senate Presidency.
ANA said the Senate Presidency seat should be left for the southern Christian, especially Godswill Akpabio whom they described as a gifted leader with an uncommon grace to navigate treacherous and difficult political landscape.
In a statement signed by the Convener of ANA, Senator Ahmed Abubakar MoAllahyidi, it expressed concern that a situation where all the leadership of the Executive, Legislature and the judiciary are Muslims does not provide the needed balance, inclusion and cohesion.
He said it is time for the APC to reward Nigerians who put their fate in the hands of the party despite the clamor by those who vehemently oppose the choice of two Muslims as President and Vice President.
“The election of principal officers of the two chambers of the national assembly is coming at a time when some sections of the polity are already jittery of the fact that the President and Vice President are Muslims, the Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN is a Muslim and the front-runner for the Speaker of the house of representatives is also a Muslim.
“ANA is concerned that a situation where all the leadership of the Executive, Legislature and the judiciary are Muslims does not provide the needed balance, inclusion and cohesion that our diversity requires at this moment; it is for this reason that the quest to have a Southern Christian as President of the 10th Senate is laudable, commendable and most reassuring.
“Taking deliberate steps to reserve the position for the South with a Christian on the saddle is a bold move that has the propensity of further uniting Nigeria across both tribal and religious lines.
“It is a very desirable and progressive move that is capable of engendering peace and national stability. It will also demonstrate, empathy, accommodation and a sense of belonging that will erode the fear of exclusion and marginalization”, the statement said.
ANA also said it is mindful of the fact that in the lead up to the determination of the Leadership of the 10th Senate, many highly qualified contenders have publicly thrown their hats into the ring and they come from different regions of the country.
They however, appealed to the northerners among the contenders for the Senate Presidency seat, especially the Muslims, to defer their ambition as a sacrifice to promote the spirit of brotherhood, fraternal accommodation and goodwill.
“A groundswell of Patriotic and informed leaders have in recent times spoken of the iterative fit of someone from the South-South Geopolitical Zone to head the 10th Senate.
“This being the only Zone never to have held the Position of Senate President in this era of our democratic expression (1999 to date).
“The current dispensation requires leaders with character and tenacity; Senator Godswill Akpabio comes across as a gifted leader with an uncommon grace to navigate the treacherous and difficult political landscape, having built enduring bridges across the Political, ethnic and religious landscape of a multifaceted country like Nigeria, his political sagacity and accommodating win-win ethos will be the highly needed skills required to head the 10th Senate.
“For the APC as a political party, it is time to reward Nigerians who put their fate in the hands of the party despite the clamor by pundits who vehemently oppose the choice of two Muslims as President and Vice President.
“It is therefore critical to reduce the usual acrimony that characterizes struggle for power among the geo-political zones, in a manner that will reduce unnecessary distractions and foster a peaceful and smooth take-off of the new dispensation under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“ANA will like to use this opportunity to call on well-meaning Nigerians to support President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Sen. Kashim Shettima, in their onerous task of taking Nigeria to great heights”, the statement added.