‘South-South Not The Only Option’: Tinubu Advocates For Wider Competition For Senate Presidency -Reports

• Tinubu has reportedly stated that the Senate President’s seat for the 10th National Assembly should be zoned to the South region rather than micro-zoning to the South-South.

• He believes that a fair contest should be held and all qualified aspirants from South East and South-South should be allowed to participate.

• Tinubu rejected pressures by some party leaders and Southwest senators who wanted the Senate Presidency to be zoned only to the South-South.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is reported to have told the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he prefers that the Senate President seat for the 10th National Assembly be zoned to the south rather than micro zoning it to the south-south.

This was said to be part of the discussions on Wednesday between Tinubu, APC leaders, and some National Assembly members over the zoning of the leadership of the incoming 10th National Assembly.

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It was gathered that some members of the APC leadership and three South West senators urged that the Senate Presidency be zoned to the South-South, but Tinubu outrightly rejected the request.

According to sources quoted by The Sun, the President-elect argued that it was wrong to propose zoning the post of Senate President to South-South only as he said leaving it open to the entire South would give all the qualified aspirants from South East and South-South to go into a fair contest just like APC delegates picked the presidential candidate of the party prior to the election without micro zoning.

Tinubu was said to have told participants at the meeting that in the interest of fairness, equity, religious and regional balancing, the southern region, and not just the south-south should be allowed to contest for the Senate President seat.

An impeccable source privy to the meeting said: “The plot to have a sole South-South candidate by zoning the office to the zone failed flat with President-elect, who, in his wisdom, rejected pressures by some members of the party leadership and the Southwest senators for the zoning of the Senate presidency to the South-South.

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“There’s no truth in all that was reported in the media that the President and the NWC have settled for South-South. The President insisted that the position should be zoned to the South region.”

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