Northern Youth Council urges APC to zone the seat of the Senate President to the Northwest
By: Femi Mustapha
The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has appealed to the President-elect, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership, and stakeholders to zone the seat of the Senate President to the Northwest.
The youths said zoning the Senate President seat to the Northwest is imperative, bearing in mind the region’s active participation and contribution towards the victory of the party in the just concluded presidential election.
Speaking to the media in Kaduna on March 29, 2023, the President of the Council, Isah Abubakar, said the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria is a non-partisan group with a special interest in good governance and anti-corruption. They are interested in the smooth running of every organ of the Nigerian state and recognize the fact that the National Assembly is an important institution that ensures checks and balances in the running of the affairs of the country.
The youths added that considering the outcome of the 2023 Presidential Election, wherein leaders emerged from the southern part of the country, it is only right for the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to zone the Number 3 position in the country, which is the Senate President, to the North Western part of the Country.
Isah explained that the Northwest remains a major APC stronghold in the geopolitical scheme of the country, followed by the Southwest, Northeast, Northcentral, South-South, and Southeast.
According to him, there is a need to compensate the Northwest region with the seat of the Senate President due to the votes and support garnered from the region.
“We gave President-Elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu the highest number of votes among the entire geopolitical zones across the country. The youths and every other person from the Northwest geopolitical zone that exercised their civic obligation and voted the president-elect will be gladly overwhelmed if the Senate Presidential seat is zoned to the Northwest.
“We observed that the party has been deliberating on the zoning of the Senate President seat for quite a while. There is no need to deliberate on this. Judging from a ranking perspective, APC has senators that are highly competent from the Northwest. Some have been in the National Assembly since 1999 and are doing very well in addressing issues regarding the country as a whole.
“We also have senators returning for their third time in the Senate, who are competent enough to deliver in the 10th coming Senate.
“For equity and fairness, the Southwest produced the president-elect, the Northeast produced Vice president-elect while the party chairman is from the North Central, and the Northwest, which gave the largest block of votes and support that assured the victory of the party, deserve compensation.
“We, therefore, wish to plead with the leadership of the APC and Senators-elect for the 10th National Assembly to accord maximum support for any of the ranking senators from the Northwest to emerge as the Senate President.
“Moreover, we have discovered that the ranking Senator aspiring to be Senate President from North West Zone has the highest ranking among the list of all Senators from both the Northern and Southern part of the country to lead the 10th Senate,” he said.