Your Excellency,
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
President-elect,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Defence House,
Maitama – Abuja.
Dear Sir,
CLAMOUR FOR ZONING OF THE SENATE PRESIDENT POSITION IN THE 10TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: THE POLITICAL DANGER OF ZONING THE SENATE PRESIDENT POSITION TO THE SOUTH SOUTH OR SOUTH EAST TO THE EXCLUSION OF THE NORTHWEST
Our highest respect goes to the indefatigable and invincible and revered leader, the President-elect, His Excellency (Senator) Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sir, this is an Open Letter from us, the Parliamentary Lobby Network Group in AREWA (PARLNETWORK) to your Excellency, the President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Party (APC).
The PARLNETWORK is a pan-Nigeria and pro-democracy bipartisan lobby group which advocates for good leadership, good governance and political equity for sustainable development across the country. Our core objective is to seek excellent and impactful Parliamentary and Executive leadership interface through active lobby and appeal to Parliamentarians and the Executive branch of government to elect worthy and credible leaders with pedigrees, track records and character that underpin and prioritize responsible and patriotic leadership in the country.
Sir, our attention has recently been drawn to ongoing intense lobbying and desperate horse-trading by some APC leaders from the South East and South South regions in which they push a strange quest to be given the position of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly. We are also deeply concerned that the media campaigners and political actors from the two Southern regions, who favour a blanket, rash and untenable zoning arrangement that summarily puts the coveted positions at the doorsteps of either the South South or South East, have hit the open doors of Your Excellency to pressure you and your inner circle into acceding to their demands ahead of the June 13th inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
Third amongst our legitimate concerns is the seemingly desperate and subterranean moves by some unconscionable political leaders who were elected into the Nation’s Parliament from some parts of the North with a selfish quest to jettison the post-electoral reward system you have long planned for the North in favour of serving as Deputy President of the Senate.
Sir, it is important to let you know that our political consultations with the notable opinion and political leaders of the North, especially the North West, clearly indicate that the entire region awaits your Excellency to reward it with the Senate President for the strong electoral showing it made in the 2023 presidential election.
As a group whose mantra also underpins political equity, moral redirection, social fairness and post-electoral reward system, we hereby call on Your Excellency to beware of desperate and unconscionable politicians whose electoral value and political clout within their acclaimed regions or states are next to nothing as proved by the last presidential election of March 2023.
More so, for the records, Your Excellency, there is no section of the constitution that states that zoning or election of Presiding Officers within the Nation’s Parliament must be done in consonance with religious or ethnic considerations. Much as we view such as illegal, undemocratic and untenable, we wish to appeal to your good conscience and moral authority to avoid any form of interference in the election of especially the Senate President, considering your vaunting position as the apex father to all the APC family, and as the incoming Head of the Executive branch of the government.
It is noteworthy that Parliamentarians and distinguished Senators are known to prefer non-interference in their internal affairs, especially in electing their Principal or Presiding Officers. More so, as a group that has witnessed many legislative proceedings, especially in the Senate, we are fully informed and aware that the Senate does not bring the issue of religious consideration into its leadership composition but rather merit, track records, experience, acceptability and strength of character to be able to rally colleague Senators for a greater national cause.
Your Excellency, Sir, you would recall the unfortunate Parliamentary drama which played out in 2015 whereby the Senator Abubakar Saraki-led Parliamentary bloc revolted bitterly against the party’s choice. The unfortunate incident, which should not have been, has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubts that Senators have since found and preferred their independence in electing their presiding officers, which also serves the party’s interest and helps to avoid friction with the Executive branch.
Sir, we wish to also use the spirit and letters of this patriotic open letter to you to draw the attention of the leadership of our great party to the overriding need for the party to encourage the process and politics of electing Senate President of the 10th National Assembly from the Northwest region of Nigeria based on the free unhindered freewill of Senators to elect their Presiding Officers.
Sir, we make humble to aver that this position of ours underscores and brings to the fore the imperative of ensuring a reward system is entrenched within the incoming Tinubu-Shettima administration. This is very important to ensure that traditional loyalists and regions known to contribute bulk and swing votes during the last presidential election are amply rewarded and given a strong sense of belonging and appreciation.
Within the flank and rank of Senators contending for the the coveted seat of the Senate President, His Excellency, Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari (Shettiman Zamfara) is most outstanding, and the only candidate that many opinion leaders of the North have found to possess what are required to bring purposeful and responsible Parliamentary leadership upon the revered institution of the Senate.
Our choice of him was objectively informed by certain unassailable facts, which highlighted his long-term loyalty to the party, his pedigree as a true democrat, his leadership competence, his acceptability as well as other rare traits like his generosity, amenability and flexibility to diverse political ideas and school of thoughts.
Sir, we also use this opportunity to call on the leadership of the party, under your watch, to jettison any idea of using the NWC to scuttle ND/or jeopardize the bid of the Northwest to attain the Number three position in the country, as ongoing consultations and discussions among leaders from the zone indicate that the enthusiasm and long-term loyalty of the Northern region to Your Excellency would be dampened if the party, through the NWC, makes a mistake of blocking the political aspiration of the region on account of parochial and undemocratic considerations like religion or geopolitical balancing.
Going down the statistical lane, there is no gainsaying the fact that no political actors or watchers of the political arena of our dear country can deny the overwhelming and decisive bulk votes which the North West had churned out in favour of the President-elect. Like the popular political maxim had since posited; *”power is never given by those who worked hard to earn it, and it can only be taken by those who play their cards well”*. Hence, we wish to categorically state that the North West cannot afford to strive hard, risk everything politically for the BAT political victory, only to be robbed or de-robed of its emblem of post-election honour by those whose regions gave little or nothing to the APC’s hard-won victory in the 2023 polls.
Sir, the following authenticated and verifiable fact of figures showcase the electoral outcomes of the just concluded election that swung victory to Your Excellency, upon which the two frontline regions of the Northwest and Northeast have anchored their legitimate quest and demand for the position of Senate President:
*HOW THE ZONES CONTRIBUTED TO BOLA TINUBU’S EMERGENCE IN 2023:*
•Total Votes: 8.79 million:
•North West: 30.0%
•South West: 25.9%
•North Central: 20.0%
•North East: 13.5%
•South South: 9.10%
•South East: 1.45%
Your Excellency, Sir, having seen the electoral outcomes of the just concluded presidential election in the six geopolitical zones herein, we found it rather insulting, denigrating, intriguing and unfair that some party officials and political leaders would jettison their moral high horses and begin to claim equity and fairness over a position(s) they have not merited or worked to justify their very strange and ungodly quest which they do by latching on religion and some illusionary need for geopolitical balancing for the country.
Sir, our pan-Nigeria group would like to appeal to your good conscience to exercise your moral and political discretion to ensure the Northwest and Northeast regions are adequately compensated for their loyalty, trust and belief in your political ideology, and never allow your good self to be swayed by pressure, especially from desperate political hijackers and untrustworthy job seekers.
If we can have your listening years, Sir, our group has enough justifications, politically and otherwise, to suggest your robust support to the aspirations of His Excellency Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari (Shettiman Zamfara) for the position of the Senate President.
Sir, for the sake of moral and political correctness and consolidation of your likely future presidential re-election bid in 2027, these two political pillars of the North, like they did in the just concluded 2023 presidential election, are capable of mobilizing their Northern political bases and leaders to repeat their electoral support to your presidential aspiration for yet another victory in 2027 Insha Allah.
Thank you immensely, Your Excellency, for your reading time and audience.
Signed:
Hon. Salisu Sabo
National Convener & Chairman of PARLNETWORK
Hon. Abdulmumin Abdulsalam
Secretary-General of PARLNETWORK & Senior Legislative Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate.
Hon. (Mrs) Nicole Esther James
Deputy Secretary-General & South South Coordinator of PARLNETWORK
